


Vampire's Tale 2, A: Trail of Blood

by spookyawards_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: M/M, Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-03-22
Updated: 2003-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-27 06:02:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 44,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14419197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyawards_archivist/pseuds/spookyawards_archivist
Summary: An old blood drinker comes to settle a score and Alex is the pawn. Will his master pay the price?





	Vampire's Tale 2, A: Trail of Blood

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Spooky Awards](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Spooky_Awards), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [SpookyAwards' collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/spookyawards/profile).

 

A Vampire's Tale 2: Trail of Blood

## A Vampire's Tale 2: Trail of Blood

### by Donnilee

**TITLE: A VAMPIRE'S TALE 2: TRAIL OF BLOOD** AUTHOR: Donnilee  
WEBSITE: <http://donnilee.tripod.com>  
**RATING: NC-17**  
CATEGORY: MSR - Kr/Other-Slash.  
SUMMARY: An old blood drinker comes to settle a score and Alex is the pawn. Will his master pay the price? SPOILERS: Fight the Future (movie), Small one for "3", Paper Clip, Anasazi, The Blessing Way  
TIME LINE: Takes place near the end of Season 7.Requiem hasn't happened. 

DISCLAIMER: Some SAY I should be locked up, but I swear! I take my medication! Oh, you mean the characters herein? Nope. Not mine. Used shamelessly and without remorse. They belong to Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen, and Fox Broadcasting. 

DEDICATION: To all those who are open to new ideas read stories that aren't my usual kind of stuff.  
THANKS: To Fran Hartman for grabbing the reins on this series and helping me not make an ass out of myself! What would I do without beta readers? 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the sequel to Steeped in Blood. You don't have to have read that one to understand this one, but I'd love it if you did. In VT1, Alex is made a vampire by the new Deputy Director in the Bureau, Kendall Fair, whose real name is Gareth. Mulder and Scully were sent on a wild goose chase of a case concerning a haunted house by said D.D., all so he could trap them into owing him a favor. M &S know about Alex, but they still don't know about Kendall, except that Alex has a master that does exist. M&S just consummated their relationship on this trip. They've only been together once. That should cover any gaps in the story. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: The sex between vampires in this story is "supposed" to be fantastic and unrealistic. It is pure fantasy and not meant to be picked apart with tweezers! The "endowments" of the participants are "supposed" to lean toward the ridiculous to give a feel of separating human sex from vampiric sex. 

When characters speak to each other telepathically, those words are between asterisks __, rather than quotes.

WARNING: Here there be M/M slash between Krycek and a secondary character. There be M &S horizontal mambo too. If this isn't your cup of tea, you can skip those parts. I've rated each chapter AND marked the beginning of the descriptive sex, so that you can tell which chapter contain the descriptive sex and skip over them if you wish. 

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**PART 1 (NC-17)**  
**DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT**  
**GEORGETOWN, D.C.**  
**FRIDAY MORNING**

After Krycek and his master disappeared into the night sky over New England, Mulder and I didn't wait to pack our bags and head home to Washington. We collected ashes from the lawn and drove straight through for eight hours and it was now 8:00 AM. We were exhausted and on edge. 

"What are we going to do, Mulder?" I asked. 

"I don't know. Maybe we should talk to D.D. Fair?" he suggested. 

"And tell him what? That our old enemy, Alex Krycek, has saved our lives and now wants repayment? And oh, by the way, he's a vampire?" I snorted at the preposterous idea. 

"So you believe he's a vampire?" 

I didn't know what I believed, so I stayed silent. 

"We could probably leave the vampire part out," he said, not pressing the issue of my beliefs. 

"How would we write up our report then?" 

"I'm not sure yet. Look, I need time to think. We just got back from Connecticut. We have the whole weekend to figure this out. Let's start fresh tomorrow." 

"It is tomorrow." 

"We need rest, Scully. And ..." 

"And?" 

"Do you remember what Krycek said?" 

I swallowed. "How can you believe anything that man says?" I was trying to squash the dangerous seed of hope that Krycek had placed in my  
heart. Damn him all to hell! I thought. 

"That vampire, you mean?" 

"Mulder, please!" 

"I don't know if I can, Scully. Believe him, that is. But the point is ... are you willing to risk that he might have been telling the truth and we miss our chance?" 

"You mean I miss MY chance?" 

"NO. I mean WE miss OUR chance." 

I looked at him and felt a wave of affection wash over me. He knew how deep-seated this desire was in me. He truly would do anything for me, even saddle himself with parenthood, to make me happy. "Mulder, you don't have to sacrifice for this." 

"Sacrifice?" he asks incredulously. "Haven't you heard anything I've said in the last week?" 

I creased my brow, unsure what his point was. He came to me as I stood there, finally having stopped pacing in front of the coffee table in the living room. His arms came around me and pulled me against his solid chest. He was warm and comforting. "Scully, I love you. What else do you need to know? There's no one else I will ever have children with. Only you." 

"But you don't want ..." 

He cut me off. "Don't tell me what I want," he said, a touch of anger in his voice. "You never bothered to ask, Scully." 

"Well, excuse me." I snapped and pulled out of his arms. 

He was silent and I turned to look at him and spotted the wounded look on his face. "I want ... everything with you, Scully. Don't you get it? Everything, Scully. The house, the two cars, the kids ... the ring," he added barely audibly. 

I gasped, "Oh God, Mulder." 

He was staring at me, wetness pooling in his hazel eyes. My Lord, I realized, he loves me so much. Why had I thought he wouldn't want those things? His history didn't bear it out, but I guess I'd been too caught up in my own misery and losses to think about his for a while. I stepped into him again and he yanked me to him roughly and burrowed his face in my hair. 

He suppressed a sob and I felt the muscles of his back roll under my hands. His lips found my ear and gently suckled my earlobe, his teeth scraping lightly as he pulled away. I moaned softly, feeling arousal zip through my body, pooling between my thighs. 

"Let me make love to you again, Scully," he whispered in a soft voice. "Once wasn't nearly enough. And if he's right, great. If he's not, that's all right, too. But I need you tonight. I need to feel connected to you." 

My head fell to the side in acquiescence as his lips assaulted my neck, and his tongue burned a hot trail down to my pulse at the base of my neck. He moaned and sucked on the skin there, nipping lightly and surely leaving a mark on my lily-white skin. I didn't care. 

"Do we even want to bring a child into our world, Mulder?" I wondered. Where the hell that had come from, I wondered. I'd wanted a child for so long. Why was I even hesitating? I had to take the chance. Didn't I? 

His lips brushed my collarbone as he spoke. "I want to try, Scully. He said you were fertile, but only for a while. Time's running out. Let's not let the chance go by." 

I pulled away slightly and tugged on his hand, leading him into the bedroom. He was right. We had to try. We undressed quickly, skipping the preliminary excitement of undressing one another. 

**XXXXXXXXXX**  
**THIS PORTION NC-17**

I laid down on the bed and held my arms out to him. He came to me in a rush, sliding his big, brown body over top of mine. His mouth claimed mine in a fierce, possessive kiss that branded my soul. He was so ... passionate that it was scary sometimes. Then I remembered the look of awe, reverence and joy on his face when he had released himself into me that first time and all doubts vanished. 

He began to move down, suckling my nipples and making my back arch. I pushed into his mouth, begging for more. His large hands splayed across my  
back, holding my body in place. When he began to move even lower, I clutched his shoulders and found my voice. "No, Mulder. In me, now." 

He moaned and moved down anyway, muttering, "Just a little taste." His warm, wet tongue swiped across my swollen nether lips and scooped up the ridiculous amount of wetness there. He hummed in his throat as if it were the best thing he'd ever tasted. 

I tugged on his shoulders and he moved up again, kneeling between my legs this time. 

He bent over to kiss me, sharing my taste, tangy and smoky on my tongue. Then he sat up, ass cheeks resting on his heels. He grabbed two pillows and propped them under my hips, raising my pelvis into the air. 

His thumbs brushed my slit, opening my sex. I heard the sound of it like a sloppy kiss as the lips parted. He grunted softly. "You're so wet, Scully." 

"Just for you," I whispered. 

"Oh, Christ," he mumbled. His sex was hard and heavy between his legs, tumescent and turning red with the flow of his blood. I went to reach for it but he stopped me, shaking his head slightly. 

My hands reached above me to brace against the headboard and he smiled. I said, "Mulder, please, stop teasing." 

The head of his cock was leaking pre cum and he took his shaft gently between his thumb and forefinger, rubbing it up and down between my wet folds. I sucked in my breath in anticipation. His hips flexed, pressing just the head inside me. 

I moaned, "Moorree." 

He gave me a lazy smile and grasped my waist above my hips, his fingers nearly meeting as they clasped around my waist. "So slender," he muttered and then began sliding inside. 

I watched his beautiful stomach muscles clench and release as he worked himself slowly inside me. He began to stroke gently, easing out, then a little further in each time, teasing my hungry walls. He was pulsing and hard and I wanted it all. 

His teasing finally broke me and I cried out, "Oh, please, Mulder. Give me all of you." 

He groaned and leaned forward, placing his hands on the bed beside my waist. He pushed the remainder of himself inside and stopped, his mouth open, his eyes closed, reveling in the feeling of being inside me again. I was doing the same, only my eyes were open. I panted gently and whispered, "Please, move." 

I heard whimpers issuing from the back of my throat as he began to stroke into me, slowly and deeply, retreating almost all the way and pressing back inside, parting my walls like a wave, filling me to the brim and bumping gently against the entrance to my womb. 

His speed increased, his eyes open now and staring at my face, taking in every little twitch and expression. The strength and intensity of his regard was unnerving. At the same time, it heightened my arousal to levels I'd never dreamed existed. 

He began muttering as he kept his rhythm, only increasing his speed every few minutes. He wanted to make this last. "So good, Scully. Oh, I love you so much. Jesus, woman, you have no idea what you do to me. Oh, God. This is a dream. It's a miracle. I belong inside you. Oh, Jesus, Scully, you were made for me." 

He leaned down enough to capture my nipple in his mouth, suckling hard until I felt it pinch. I cringed and he let up slightly on his suction, but that pinch caused a new flood of wetness between my legs. He felt me drench his balls and pubic hair as my juices shot out of me. His lips smiled against my breast, his tongue torturing my aureole and nipple. 

He nipped and sucked hard again, making me cry out as the sensation shot straight to my crotch. My hands came down from above my head to grasp his bulging biceps. He never faltered, impaling me steadily on his cock. He did straighten up again and one hand went to my waist, pulling me toward him with every thrust. The other used a thumb to press my clitoris against our joining. 

Every push inside created an electric shock of sensation in my clitoris that flowed out through my abdomen. I was moaning constantly now as I felt my climax approach rapidly. 

I panted out, "Oh, Mulder, almost there. Oh, keep doing that! Awww, it's so good!" 

He did. And he kept stroking, only harder and faster, abusing my clit as he pressed it from above against our joining, his shaft dragging over the bottom of the distended nerve bundle. 

I screamed, "Aaaaaawwwwww, Gggoooddd, Mmmuuullldddeeerrr!" My orgasm made my muscles clench hard on his rigid flesh. He never stopped rubbing my clit. His other hand left my waist to pinch my nipple. I screamed again as another wave of convulsions wracked my body. "Oh shit, again!" 

He suddenly hooked his arms beneath my knees and leaned over me, bending me nearly in half, pointing my crotch up in the air. He lunged into me, his elbows landing on the bed, pinning my knees near my ears. 

He went berserk, slamming into me with speed and force, all finesse gone. He cried out, "Ahh, God, Aww, God, oh yeah, here it comes. OH MY GOD! HOLY SHIT, SCUULLYY! LOVE YOU!" 

He jerked in my arms and flooded my insides with warm seed. He cried out some unintelligible sound as he emptied his balls inside me. He moved his arms out from under my legs, but didn't let me lower them all the way. He directed them to wrap around his lean hips. 

**XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION**

His fingers burrowed into my hair. Holding my face in place, he kissed me tenderly, deeply, hotly. Then, he gently sucked on my swollen lips and dabbed his tongue in the line of sweat on my upper lip and not seeming to mind the salty taste of my sweat. Our bodies were slick and cooling now. 

"You going to move?" I asked quietly when I finally caught my breath. My ankles were locked over his lower back. 

"Nope," he said, just as lazily. 

My chest bounced as I suppressed a chuckle. 

He lifted his head and smiled. He moved the small muscles of his cock and I felt it twitch inside me. I grunted softly and he said, "Don't want any to fall out yet." 

I laughed then, realizing what he was doing. He was keeping me in this position, with my hips in the air, his cock plugged inside my entrance, hoping gravity would help out with his goal. I knew it wouldn't make a difference, but the thought made me feel so tender toward him. He wanted this as much as I did. 

So I waited while he brushed butterfly kisses over my neck and shoulders. He went still and I looked up at him again, sighing in contentment. He said, "I adore you. I love being close to you like this. It's like a fantasy come true, Scully." 

I felt hot tears sting my eyes but they didn't fall. I sniffed gently and said, "I love you, Mulder. I'm still afraid, but I do love you. You know that, don't you?" 

"Yeah, I do now." 

"What do you mean you do now?" 

"At the house in Connecticut, as great as it was, I wasn't sure if you were in my bed just to save our hides, or if you really wanted me." 

"I told you I loved you." 

"I know. But loving me and being IN LOVE with me are two different things." 

"I think I clarified that I was IN LOVE with you." 

"I know, but I still wasn't sure. The circumstances were so bizarre, Scully. You have to know what I mean. I know you don't believe in ghosts, but I think they were right there with us." 

I stared at his plump lower lip, and darted my tongue out to lick it. He jerked slightly in surprise and smiled. I said, "I felt it," I admitted. 

His smile faded and he stared at me intently, gauging the sincerity of my statement. "You felt her, didn't you? The woman. She was with you, feeling what you felt." 

I chewed my lip slightly. I said softly, "Yes, I felt her. I sensed ... I don't know." 

"What?" 

"I sensed she was a virgin, like she'd never known a woman's pleasure, and she wanted desperately to know what it felt like." 

He smiled and let my legs fall to bed in a slightly more comfortable position. His limp flesh finally exited my body and he grunted in disappointment. I chuckled at his expression. 

He brought his focus back to me. "I felt the guy, Scully." 

"You think there were two ghosts?" 

"Yes. I think it was the woman, Ana Quinn, and her lover. She killed herself, remember. And then he hung himself. A real Romeo and Juliet type tragedy. I think they've been haunting that house ever since, trying to convince each owner to show love in that house so that they could experience it and be together." 

"It's all supposition on your part, Mulder," I said, unable to stop my logical side from emerging. I couldn't believe I was talking about ghosts as if they were real entities in the first place. But I'd seen a lot in seven years and I wasn't so quick to dismiss his theories, although I would always be skeptical to a degree. 

I couldn't deny what I'd felt that night. There had been a presence with me while Mulder made love to me and I could no longer pretend that these things didn't happen to me. It was counterproductive to our partnership and our relationship as a whole. I wasn't about to do a complete turn around and become a shadow chaser, like he could be at times, but I wasn't going to automatically think I had all the answers either. If I'd learned anything in seven years on the X-Files, it was that there were definitely things outside of the realm of explainable science. 

"I believe it, Scully. I felt him there. He wanted you, or her, as the case may be. And it was like ..." 

"What?" 

"I don't know, like all my senses were enhanced. Like my sense of touch, smell, taste were all acute and vivid. Does that make sense?" 

"Yes, I felt that too." 

"I was afraid it wouldn't feel the same the second time." 

I smiled softly. "You know, I think I was wondering that myself." 

"And?" 

"It didn't feel the same. We were definitely alone this time." 

He frowned. "I'm sorry ..." 

"Shhh, silly," I admonished, pressing my fingers to his lush lips. "It was just as good, Mulder, even better because there was no interference from the outside. What we just felt was real 100 percent. It was just different, not worse." 

He smiled then. "I love you, Dana Katherine Scully." 

"I love you too, Mulder." 

"Maybe we made a baby," he said innocently and suddenly. 

I smiled, touching my hand to my stomach as he rolled off me and lay on his side next to me. His hand went to cover mine and we stared at my stomach for few seconds. 

Then I said, "I hope so, Mulder. I hope so." 

"I'm exhausted," he declared. 

"Me too. Let's sleep. I'm not even setting the alarm." 

"Ooo, so daring!" he teased. "We'll start fresh after some sleep, Scully." 

"You're on." 

**PART 2 (NC-17)**  
**KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION**  
**FALLS CHURCH, VA**  
**FRIDAY EVENING**

"How are they?" I asked as Alex entered the living room. 

"Fine and dandy, boss." 

"Oh stop with the boss crap." 

He smiled. "Everyone is fine." 

"They came home quick. I was afraid the shocks we gave them would distract them from their new relationship." 

"Noohoo," he said. 

I raised my eyebrows, silently asking for an explanation. 

He grinned. "He boinked her brains out." 

I sighed. "Must you be so crude?" I asked, not really that annoyed. I did want to make him into a gentleman, and he still needed some work. On the other hand, his irreverence amused me to no end. 

"It's part of my charm," he stated without a hint of remorse. 

I shook my head in mock exasperation. "What am I going to do with you?" 

Without hesitation he said, "Feed me and then fuck me?" 

I laughed out loud now. "Hungry, are you?" 

"I'm starved," he replied, all traces of humor gone. 

"Let me change my clothes and we'll go hunting." 

He smiled. "I'll wait here." 

I didn't bother replying and left the room, mounting the stairs and changing into black jeans, black turtleneck, black sweater and black trench coat. I tied my waist length black hair back into a pony tail and made my way back downstairs. 

His long, black, wool coat was flung over the arm of the couch. He stood with his back to me, perusing the books on the bookshelf. I let my eyes wander down the length of his backside, taking in the broad shoulders, the tiny waist and the tight ass cheeks, encased in black denim that fit him like the skin on a grape. 

I nearly moaned but managed to suppress my desire, feeling my groin tingle and my gums ache. God, he drove me crazy. He was going to be the death of me. Literally. That thought was like a bucket of cold water over my head. And yet, my eyes were still drawn to the bulging thigh muscles, hugged by his jeans. I loved that crease at the top of his thighs where his ass began. I could spend a whole evening just licking that crease. He was the sexiest creature I had encountered in over a century, the first in so long to so capture my interest that I couldn't resist him and was willing to take such a chance. 

His one flaw in the physical sense when he had been a mortal was now a memory. His fully formed arms and hands brushed the bindings of the books, guiding his eyes down the row of books as he looked for something of interest. 

He'd stopped bothering with gel in his hair and I approved. It was soft and fluffy now, having been slightly longer than his usual cut when I had begun the change. His hair would be like this forever now. I cleared my throat so as not to startle him and he whirled around. We loved to play this little game of seeing if we could sneak up on each other without making a sound. 

He grinned. "How long have you been there? You're silent as a fucking shadow." 

"You will be too ... soon." 

"Are you ready?" 

"Yes, let's go catch us a scum bag, darling." 

He picked up his coat and swirled it around his shoulders with a flourish. I laughed at his boyish display of showmanship and we headed out the door. 

The night was crisp and clear and littered with starlight. We moved with the grace and speed of our kind as we traveled the streets, heading for Washington D.C. We were there in less than ten minutes. We headed into the southeast section of the city, teeming with every type of dirt bag known to man. Drug dealers, killers, scam artists, hookers and pimps. We prowled, stealing shadows to hide our presence and probed the minds of the hordes around us as they passed by. 

Finally, we found two pimps in an alley, fighting over territory. One had killed one of his best girls the night before because he'd found out she'd tried to hold back money from him. Of course, feeding her four year old son hadn't mattered to Tyrone, the wonder pimp. Now her child was motherless. 

The other dirt bag was Shelly. He hadn't killed anyone lately, but was about to knife Tyrone and had no compunction about killing him to keep him off his territory. 

We walked silently into the alleyway after a nod of agreement. When we were close, we moved with lightning speed and emerged from the shadows, appearing to materialize out of thin air next to the two combatants. 

They both shrieked in alarm and jumped away from one another. They quickly regained their composure and turned their dueling knives toward us, crouching into fighting stances. 

"What the fuck, man?" 

"Who the fuck are you two?" 

"We're your judges," I said. 

"Jury and executioners," Alex concluded. 

"Bring it on, mother fucker!" Tyrone yelled, lunging for Alex. His fear was palpable. I stood my ground and watched Alex move with inhuman speed, twisting the knife out of Tyrone's hand, spinning him around and catching him by the scruff of the neck, his hand choking the life out of his wind pipe. 

His eyes bulged and he choked as he came to an abrupt halt, pinned to Alex's chest with his other arm around the back of the man's shoulders. Alex smiled, pushing his tongue to the roof of his mouth and forward, extending his fangs. 

He hissed loudly. The man screamed, "Oh, no, Jesus! No!" 

Alex struck with the speed of a rattler and pierced the man's neck with his fangs, beginning to take long draughts of his warm blood. His pal was frozen in shock, sweat pouring off of him. His paralysis suddenly fled and he whirled, running toward the street. I bolted after him, grabbing him quickly and returning to Alex's side at the back of the alley, out of the glare of the street light that cast a dim glow of circular light about five feet in front of us. 

I grabbed Shelly's dread locks and yanked his head back, extending my fangs and sinking into his neck all in one smooth move. I felt his body jerk and stiffen while mine flooded with the equivalent of human endorphins as his warm, rich blood flowed over my tongue. 

I tasted Jack Daniels and cocaine and the sweet fruity taste of diabetes. I pulled hard until I felt his heart beginning to slow. I retracted my fangs, spitting on his neck. My saliva encompassed the holes in his neck and closed them up as if I'd never been there. Alex was doing the same. 

He smiled, his teeth still bloody. The two men collapsed at our feet, unconscious. "Did you leave some?" 

"Yes. His heart's about to quit, though." 

"Good, it will look like heart attacks." 

"Some of the blood will regenerate before they die." 

"I know. You've told me. We can't leave bloodless bodies lying all over the city." 

"No, we can't. You can only drain them dry if you have a means to dispose of the bodies." 

"Where to next?" 

"Do you need more?" 

He looked at me and shrugged. "I could use more. But I'll be all right without it." 

I continued my lessons. "What did you taste in the blood?" 

He sighed, tiring of my teachings. But they were necessary. Obediently, he recited his list. "Liquor ... tequila, I think. There was definitely cocaine and marijuana." 

"Anything else?" 

"Yeah, he has pancreatitis." 

"Very good, Alex. That's excellent. You not only got the obvious elements in the blood stream, you're detecting the diseases of the organs it has flowed through." 

He beamed a smile under my praise. "Can we go now?" He was still a bit impatient for my taste. 

I was 3,500 years old and didn't need even half the amount of blood he did to sustain me. My skin had absorbed so much over the years that it took very little to maintain my health and vitality. The absorbed blood made my body hard as porcelain. He, however, was only a few weeks old and needed blood constantly. He might be able to go a day without it, but that was about it. I didn't want him getting reckless. 

My blood was old and very strong and had qualities that sustained him and satisfied his hunger in a way no mortal blood could. I didn't want to take anyone else tonight. We had to be careful. I touched his shoulder. 

"I've taken way more than I need. Let's go home and I will let you drink." 

He flushed with arousal and anticipation as he always did when I offered myself to him. He knew the intoxicating taste and restorative powers of my blood. He was like a junkie for it. It was one way in which I controlled him, not that I needed to control him very much anyway. He was loyal and obedient and very grateful to me. I had restored his arm and hand with my blood by bringing him over to me. I had introduced him to a world of sensual pleasures he had never known before. He was hooked as well as any addict. 

I motioned him forward and he nearly jumped into my arms, wrapping his arms around my hard torso. His feet perched on the top of my boots and I enfolded him in my embrace. I looked up, making sure the way was clear, and shot up into the air. Had anyone been looking, which they weren't, they would have only seen a translucent blur as our bodies rose into the air with unimaginable speed. I had scanned the area before take off. There was no one within range that could see down the alley. 

We were home in five minutes, flying providing a much faster transport even than running. And we could run so fast the human eye could not see us, but only feel our passing as a gust of wind. 

Alex was too young to fly. He would have to live many centuries before he gained that ability, although getting my blood on a regular basis would probably speed him along much faster than would be normal if he lived his undead life in a normal pattern. 

We entered the house, not turning on any lights, our eyes seeing in infra vision up to a 60 foot radius around us. Our superior eyesight was another benefit of immortality. 

Alex raced to the bedroom and I chuckled internally at his eagerness. I was constantly bewitched by him, his enthusiasm for his new life, his gratitude to me and his pure pleasure in having me love his body. 

He was an incredibly sensual creature. Most of his potential in this area had remained dormant as a mortal. Oh, he'd had his share of women, but it had always been a way to slake his lust. He had never been in love. And later, his missing limb had chased many mortal woman away who might have otherwise found his handsome face and smoldering eyes irresistible. 

He was all mine now, though. If he was an addict for me, I wasn't much better for him. Once I tasted his charms, I couldn't get enough. I  
made love to him almost daily, except when our schedules or duties prevented it. Since he was fully vampiric now, he could take my gigantic phallus into his lithe body with only slight pain. I'd had to be careful when he was mortal and when he was enduring the change. If I'd torn him too badly, he might not have recovered. Now the restraints were gone, the gloves off, so to speak. I literally couldn't harm him permanently with my lust. His body was more hearty and could take more pain and punishment than any human being. Even if I did manage to tear tissues and such, they healed with the speed of the undead. Normal bodily harm was nonexistent for us. 

**XXXXXXXXXXX**  
**THIS PORTION NC-17**

I undressed him carefully. enjoying the exploration of his body all over again. It fascinated me and ignited something deep within me. I was literally a giant. I stood six foot, eight inches tall and had the shoulders of a line backer and the body of Mr. Universe. My pecs and washboard stomach were picture perfect. Other than the lush hair on my head, my body was hairless and smooth, with no blemishes or imperfections. 

I ran my hands down his chest, noting idly the changes in him that were still occurring to some degree. He was fully a blood drinker now, but his development continued as he aged beyond normal means through the virtue of my blood. I planned to feed him until he was as strong as I. Then we would share each other's blood. The ecstasy then would be beyond compare. We shared now, but his blood was still much weaker than mine. When we were equals in strength and development, the ecstasy would blow his mind. 

Drinking blood often induced the sensations of orgasm without the ejaculation. It was very addicting, besides the fact that we needed it to survive. He was six foot, one inch and 180 pounds when I took him. He was now six foot, three inches and 200 pounds. He probably wouldn't grow any taller but his body was still changing. He would become heavier with time. 

His shoulders were broader, his pectorals and abdominal muscles more clearly defined. His thigh muscles bulged attractively but not overly so. His tight, small ass cheeks were firm and hard to the touch. His biceps were beautiful and tapered into muscular forearms. His fingers were long and nimble. He was nearly perfect. 

I stared at his lips and licked mine. He looked at me, his eyes dark and hooded with arousal. I kissed him tenderly and pulled away when he tried to deepen the kiss. I steered him to the bed and laid him down on his back. He reached for my pulsing cock that was even now growing in length and girth. He pumped firmly, pulling a groan from the back of my throat. I returned the favor and felt him throb hotly against my palm. 

He was delighted to learn of this little perk ... that his cock and balls grew bigger as he prolonged his pleasure. He was never puny to begin with, but this delighted him to no end. 

The night I took him and steeped him in the blood, he so excited me that even in the short time I held back, I had grown to 10 inches before I took him and grew to 13 inches inside him. Oh, how he had screamed that night, sending his blood singing in my veins as I'd reveled in the ecstasy of the blood lust, the only time I could enjoy his pain. 

The blood lust only occurred when you brought someone over to you, meaning you began to make them into a creature of the night. The whole process took two weeks and he was in pain much of that time. Although I took him gently a couple of times, for the most part I nursed him and tried to ease his pain with my blood. 

After that short abstinence, though, I couldn't keep my hands off him. It had only been a couple of weeks since then and I was taking him every day. I didn't see his or my appetite waning any time soon. 

I licked his nipples and kissed him again. I coaxed him to grab his own legs, and he took himself behind the knees and raised his legs, exposing his tight ass to me. I growled with arousal, my fangs extending. 

I wrapped one hand around the top of each of his thighs, and spread my legs to cradle his ass in front of me. He shoved a pillow under his ass, just to help with the height issue. I pumped him a few more times, supporting my weight one arm. My cock was hard as brass and now 11 inches long. He tried to pump me but could no longer touch his fingers around my girth. 

I aimed at the pristine ass that no longer contained any bodily fluids known to mortals. He was as smooth and clean inside as if he'd never digested a thing in his life. And he was like me now. The slight discomfort was an aphrodisiac and no lubrication was needed. 

I placed the helmeted head of my cock at his anus and wiggled it into place. I looked into his eyes. I hissed. His fangs extended and he said, "Do it. Fuck me." 

He didn't need to invite me twice. I gripped the front of his thighs, yanking him toward me with inhuman strength, at the same time, ramming my cock forward with a snap of my hips. My pole drilled into him, sinking most of the way, spreading his ass wide, pressing his cheeks to the side. His ass cheeks were so beautifully small, tight and compact. Even with his added height, I was still five inches taller and much bulkier than he was. I'd had bulk as a mortal and therefore retained it in my immortality. He would retain his body type proportionally, even though he had grown taller. 

He wailed, "Aaaaahhhhhhh! Yehessss! Fuck me!" 

I began to pump him viciously with no build up, ramming into him with all my might, looking down to watch my pole split him in two, breaking into his ass like a jack hammer. I hissed through clenched teeth, "Oh, my beautiful Alex. Love fucking you. Can't get enough of you, Pet!" 

He groaned in delight as I continued to ram into him. His hands came up to pinch his own nipples, which rose up like hard little pellets. He pinched hard, turning the tips white. Our minds probed each other and sank deeply, feeling each other's pain and arousal. The sensation was like nothing else in the world. It was as if our souls connected. 

The blood pounded in my veins and I listened to speedy whoosh of blood in his body. He began to chant, "Oh, Gareth, hold off. Oh, do me hard, bigger, more, more. I want more than ever before! Fuck me. Rip me open with that monster." 

I gave him his wish, reining in my arousal and slowing my hips, but not tempering the violence of my thrusts. I was able to pull back enough to stop my impending orgasm. I was easily a foot long now and nearly four inches wide. God help me, he wanted more! 

I focused on the delicious feel of his taut anal ring as it glided over my engorged flesh. I leaned down toward him, placing my elbows near his head. I towered over him, out-massing him in height and bulk. I bared my neck to him, tossing my hair to the side. I spoke into his mind, _Drink, Pet._

His eyes bulged with craving and he hissed, snapping his head toward me and sinking his fangs into my neck. My skin was tough, almost like leather now. I felt his fangs hesitate on contact before the pressure finally sank them into my neck. I groaned as he pulled my blood, filling his mouth with its thick sweetness. Rivers of tingling sensation traveled through my body with every pull. I reached one hand between us to fondle his cock and stroke him. His cock was hard as steel and smooth as glass. It had grown to eight inches long. His nuts were swelling and stretched taut as they filled with his cum. 

My thrusts slowed a little further in this position but the taking was still fairly rough. He filled his mouth at least six times and swallowed, gluttonously feasting on my blood. Too much would make him develop too fast and cause pain. Our skin hardened as we absorbed blood over the years. If it happened too quickly, it could cause pain. _That's enough, Love._

He groaned in disappointment but pulled his fangs back, not retracting them. His mouth was open and painted red inside with my blood. He screamed as I straightened up, changing the angle and pushing the additional couple of inches into him that I grown since he began feeding on my neck. My cock was truly a monster now, 14 inches long, four and half inches wide, and as hard as a metal pole. 

I buried myself inside him and shivered at the sound of his screams, my pendulous balls smacking into his upturned ass cheeks. I reared back onto my knees, grabbing his waist and pounding into him, his legs bouncing up and down with each impact as I raced to the finished line. He loved to hear me speak in his mind. *You wanted more, you little slut. How does that feel?! Huh? You like being cracked open, my little boy toy? You asked for it. Take it all, my pretty bitch!* 

I growled, holding back and feeling my cock head swell, throb and punch into his guts another inch. He screamed at the top of his lungs, his  
cries bouncing off the walls. My balls spasmed harshly, flushed hot and then shot jism up my shaft like a speeding train. I held myself inside him as my enormous balls emptied into his guts. 

He stroked himself and opened his mouth. He ejaculated hard, spurting into his own mouth and I roared in the middle of my climax, thinking this was the most erotic thing I'd ever seen anyone do. There he was, bent nearly in half, shooting his own cum into his mouth, licking his lips and swallowing as he sprayed himself in the face. 

Our orgasms fed each other, the enormous amount of fluid we produced continuing to release from our bodies. We orgasmed for over ten minutes and then I collapsed forward, crushing him into the bed. He didn't complain about my enormous weight. His face was streaked with his cum, white jism mixed with red streaks of blood. I smiled at him and slowly licked him from his hair line to his chin, sucking up every drop. He moaned and then sighed in contentment. 

_That was possibly the most erotic thing I've ever seen, Pet._

He smiled. *I could feel you so deep inside me, up to where my stomach used to be.* 

_It was the best yet, I think._

_For me too._

I eased back and forth a bit, making him groan and then lifted myself up, easing backwards from his body, watching my huge member pull out of his exquisitely chiseled, trim body. 

His ass gaped open like the bomb bay doors on the Enola Gay and I massaged his ass cheeks, watching his hole quickly close up around the white-washed skin of his insides. 

**XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION**

We rose and showered to wash off the fluids. We had a lot of sheets since we ended up changing them nearly every day. This bedroom was like the master bedroom in my townhouse in Georgetown. It had no windows. The door was heavy reinforced steel inside the wooden facade. I closed and locked it, plunging the room into darkness. The small night light from the hall could no longer be seen. We didn't need the light, anyway. 

My infra vision took in the sight of him now sprawled lazily over the clean sheets. He was a vision of perfection. Everything was tinged red with this form of sight and he looked like a Greek God, offering himself to me. He was on his stomach, his exquisite ass stuck up in the air. His eyes were closed but I knew he wasn't completely asleep yet. 

I did have two enormous coffins made of solid onyx downstairs in the basement should an emergency ever arise. No human could ever dislodge the lids of these sarcophagi. But for the most part, we lived here, blacking out the sun with modern technology, sound-proofed walls and steel doors that no mortal could breach. 

We could sleep safely here without worrying about the sun creeping up on us unawares. I needed only a few hours of sleep a night. Alex still needed about six hours. It was almost dawn, and he would sleep until the afternoon. I wouldn't, but decided to join him. I turned him onto his side and spooned up behind him, resting my now flaccid 8 inch cock in the crack of his ass cheeks. He murmured and snuggled back deeper into my embrace. I kissed his hair and mumbled, "Sleep, Pet." 

A sense of foreboding stole over me, as it had several times in the last week. I didn't know what it meant. I didn't sense another blood drinker near our city, but something was definitely afoot in the world of the immortals. I only hoped I figured out what it was before it came to visit. 

My mind filled with the vision of Zebrosia, not my maker, but my teacher from ages past. She taught me and therefore thought she owned me. When I tried to break free and make a fledgling of my own without her permission, she had destroyed the girl before my very eyes. 

In my foolish rage, I had destroyed her lover in retaliation. My fledgling had no chance. She was a mere few weeks old, like Alex, and I didn't have the strong blood to feed her like I did now for Alex. Zebrosia had ignited Vanessa and burnt her to a crisp, leaving nothing but a small pile of ashes. 

Zebrosia's lover, Amet, however, was much stronger. He was not as old as me and therefore I prevailed, but he was at least 100 years old and Zebrosia was very attached to him. I'd loved her, but had known that I would always be second to Amet. And so I'd tried to create my own companion. 

Of course, she discovered my plans to flee with my fledgling and make a life elsewhere in another city. But destroying Amet had enraged her. She couldn't bring herself to destroy me, but I had dealt her a blow easily as deep as the blow she dealt me. I had not incinerated Amet. I didn't even know I had that power. And Zebrosia had surprised and frightened me by displaying that she did have it. I had waited until she went out to hunt and I had attacked Amet with my bare hands, bit, and drained him of every drop of blood. It's a painless death for a mortal once the initial breach of the fangs through the skin is over. But for a vampire to be drained by another vampire is a painful way to die. 

The blood sustains our skin and when a vampire literally sucks the blood not only from your veins, but begins taking in the blood from your skin, it is like feeling your body collapse from the inside out, leaving nothing but a dry husk. A dry husk that burns easily, as did David when I burned him on the lawn of the farmhouse in Connecticut. 

I had drunk slowly and drawn out his pain, cursing him for taking my place in her affections. He was helpless against me and cursed me with his last words, hoping I would fry in the sun. 

Alas, I hadn't. Zebrosia had told me she never wanted to see me again and I would never steep another in the blood as long as she lived. She meant it. And so our love/hate relationship was born. It survived through the centuries. Over 300 years had gone by since that time. I had no idea how strong she must be by now. However, I knew I was incredibly strong as well. I didn't know if there were other ancient blood drinkers like myself in existence. If there were, I doubted there were many. We were few now, maybe a 100 in the whole world, and maybe only five or six of us were over a couple centuries old. 

I had not made a fledgling in all that time. I'd tried about 100 years ago, but I had chosen poorly and the girl had gotten herself killed, finding herself too far from home and her blessed darkness when the sun rose, and she was cremated by the sun. I had sunk into despair after that, vowing to never try again. 

Then Alex had come along. I had searched for Zebrosia for years, thinking to mend the rift between us. I didn't know if we could ever totally forgive one another, but I was fast approaching the point of unbearable loneliness. My mortal lovers were no longer slaking my lust. The excitement of hypnotizing and taking a mortal under false pretenses grows dim very fast. Yes, they are willing, but only because they are hypnotized. And they can never stay with you. 

As a vampire, you don't age. I was forever as I looked when I was 25 years old. Oh, my skin grew paler by the year, my body harder by the year, but my features did not change other than to maybe grow slightly more smooth, with no trace of wrinkles ever again. This only enhanced my youthful appearance. Fortunately, I looked to be in my mid 30s when I was 25, and so I was able to enter the mortal world in more positions than had I looked to be fresh out of school. I hadn't stayed in one place for more than fifty years in the last three centuries. My lack of aging became obvious to those around me and I was forced to move on when they become suspicious. 

I'd only been here less than a year and so hoped that I could enjoy a long run with Alex in this fair city. We lived in Falls Church and I owned a townhouse in Georgetown, but we hunted in D.C. or even further a field so as not to soil where we slept, so to speak. 

I was in love with Alex and could not imagine giving him up now, and it had only been a very short time. I was drawn to him from the moment I saw him with Spender. I sensed his hatred for the man and the ties to him that he was unable to break. That was another thing he was grateful to me for. He was not sorry C.G.B. Spender was a corpse. For the first time in over a century, I had found someone worthy of my love, one who I could dare to trust and love with all my heart. He had no family to bind him to his mortal life. They were all gone. 

He was mine completely now. All I had to do was keep him. I squeezed him tight, wondering if I would be able to do it. 

**PART 3 (PG-13)**  
**HOOVER BUILDING**  
**D.D. SKINNER'S OFFICE**  
**MONDAY MORNING**

Scully and I had to meet with the newly appointed D.D. Skinner this morning to give our report. 

Skinner was recently promoted to Deputy Director. Having more clout, he had managed to keep the X-Files directly under his supervision, rather than assigning them to another Assistant Director. He was our direct supervisor, but D.D. Fair had made no secret of the fact that he was interested in our work. 

I wasn't sure whether to trust him or not yet. But I was inclined to hope that a new day of never before seen prosperity was dawning on the X-Files, with support in the brass of the Bureau. Having not one, but two Deputy Directors in your corner certainly couldn't hurt! 

We entered Skinner's office, prepared to hear the usual incredulity at our report. We'd handed it in first thing. Now, two hours later, we were summoned to his office to discuss the case. Kimberly, his secretary, ushered us into the office. 

He began speaking before we were seated. "I've read your reports. I have some questions." 

"We figured you would, Sir," Scully answered. 

He looked at me. "The problem I have is the lack of evidence." 

"For which part, Sir?" 

He scowled, but then realized it was a fair question. "The killer, Agent Mulder." 

"Was a vampire." 

"Let's forget for a minute that I don't believe in vampires." 

"O.K., Sir," I said, unable to help the smirk in the corner of my mouth as I tried to suppress a smile. 

Scully frowned at my amusement and Skinner scowled again. "What happened to the body?" 

"We explained that, Sir," I answered. "It was burned." 

"Where are the bones, Agent Mulder?" 

"There are none. He was completely incinerated, as if he'd been cremated. We bagged the ashes in evidence bags before returning. They are being analyzed now." 

"You expect me to believe that this ... vampire ... went up like a human torch with no fuel source in sight?" 

Scully intervened. "We don't know, Sir. There may have been a fuel source." 

"Oh, come on, Scully," I said, only slightly raising my voice. "You saw exactly what I did." 

"I don't know what I saw." 

"Yes ... YOU ... DO!" I said, getting angry now, but not wanting to have this confrontation in front of Skinner. 

Her lips thinned and I knew she was as angry as I was. "All right. I saw the man burst into flames. Was he doused with gasoline or kerosene by someone waiting in the wings outside? We have no way of knowing," she stated. 

I sighed heavily, reining in my annoyance. Her blatant refusal to believe what was right in front of her was fast becoming the sole sticking point in our relationship. I could understand when she refused to believe things she hadn't seen and couldn't be proven with her infernal science. But to refuse to believe what your own eyes told you ... that was taking denial to a whole new level. 

"There wasn't enough time, Sir, for anyone to add a fuel source. He was chucked out a window and was in flames within five seconds of hitting the ground." 

"Who do you think did it?" Skinner asked. 

"I think whoever Krycek's master is was there, some man he calls Gareth." 

Skinner removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm also supposed to believe that Alex Krycek is a vampire now. That's a whole other issue of debate. But let's say, for the sake of argument, that I can believe he saved your life from whomever this killer was. It takes a killer to destroy a killer sometimes. That much I can buy. Krycek is surprising sometimes, and always has been stronger than he looks. I can even buy him tossing this scrawny person out a window. I'm inclined to believe he killed him with a knife to the jugular. Why? Who knows why Alex Krycek does anything?" he finished, sighing again in frustration. 

He put his glasses back on and looked at me again. "What am I supposed to think here? Besides that you have gone completely around the bend?" 

I smiled. He wouldn't be the first one to think that. "Sir, I've encountered vampires before. You read that file." 

He narrowed his gaze at me, knowing of my tryst with the female in that case. I'd broken down and told him. He'd swore he would never tell Scully should she ever be returned to me. Of course, I think he was convinced at the time that she wasn't coming back. 

"One of them worked in a blood bank and drank blood." 

"Yes, I remember. But I never bought your assertion that he was a vampire. I thought that he was probably some delusional maniac who THOUGHT he was a vampire. Or the other possibility is as Agent Scully has suggested in her report. There are diseases, such as Schere's Disease, that can make people crave the iron in blood." 

"Delusional behavior is not a symptom of Schere's Disease," Scully clarified. 

"No," Skinner replied, "But someone who had the disease could become delusional and combine the two situations, couldn't they?" 

"Anything's possible," she conceded. 

"This isn't Schere's Disease and neither was that case," I interjected. "These things exist. Hell, I was skeptical too. They were one of the few things I DIDN'T believe in. But before the end of that case, I was convinced. Now, they were destroyed by fire, just like this guy was. I think the sun and fire are the only things that can destroy them," I added. 

"I'm going to leave that alone for a minute. How do the ghosts fit in here?" 

"We don't think the ghosts are related, Sir," Scully stated. 

"Oh, the ghosts aren't related to the vampires. Well, that's a relief!" he exclaimed sarcastically. 

Scully blinked slowly, gathering her composure. "By that, Sir, we mean that ... we think the ghosts were indeed haunting the house, but they were not the ones killing the occupants. We think maybe whoever was killing the occupants used the ghosts, or the ghost stories, to frighten the occupants and make them paranoid." 

"Meaning he knew of the folklore that the house was haunted and did things to make the people think it was and perpetuate the legend?" 

"Exactly." 

"That's crap," I interjected. Scully gave me a dirty look. "Whether she's willing to admit or not, we know those ghosts were real. Nobody was moving things around that house to make the occupants think it was haunted. It WAS haunted, and those ghosts were there. She saw them. I saw them. Damn it, I'm not going to deny what my own eyes told me." 

We all sat in silence. Scully finally broke the silence. "I guess our opposing versions of events will have to stand in the file, Sir, and it will have to be marked solved as to the murders and unsolved as to the haunting or the nature of the perpetrator." 

"What else is new?" he muttered. 

"I accidentally overheard something recently," Scully blurted out, surprising us both. "It might be important, and I was curious myself because of things I can't quite explain yet." 

"What did you hear, and about whom?" Skinner asked. 

"About D.D. Fair. This may have nothing to do with anything, but I thought it was interesting." 

I was wary now. I knew she didn't want to trust him like I did. "What are you talking about, Scully?" 

"I overhead his secretary talking to one of the female agents." 

"And?" Skinner prompted. 

"They were discussing ... his size, among other things," she practically stammered, earning a scowl from me. 

Skinner scowled again. "And what does that have to do with anything?" 

"Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?" I repeated, having felt a twinge. 

"Well, they went on to talk about how he never goes outside during the day and he specifically requested an office with no windows." 

"And?" Skinner prompted. 

"Well, don't you think that's strange? His secretary said he comes in before dawn and leaves after dark, every night. I know we all work weird hours, but that seems excessive. Then his secretary mentioned that he rarely brings lunch and if he does, he often gives it away. She's never actually seen him eat anything." 

"He is new, Agent Scully. He may be trying to make a good impression." 

"Maybe." 

"You think there's more to it?" Skinner asked. 

"I don't know. I just thought it was peculiar and that it was worth knowing." 

"Duly noted, Agent Scully," Skinner acknowledged, frowning. He was clearly confused by her interest in these seemingly insignificant facts. I was too. 

Then the light bulb went on. "Wait a minute. Are you saying that you suspect him of something?" 

"Not necessarily." 

"What are you talking about now?" Skinner asked, clearly annoyed at this point. 

I looked at him. "What are the main characteristics of vampirism in folklore, Sir? Think about it. Sensitivity to light. Total nocturnal dwelling. And they don't eat. They drink blood, no need for regular food." 

"This is ridiculous!" Skinner exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air and slapping them back down on the desk. 

"I don't believe he's a vampire!" Scully said, her voice slightly raised with embarrassment. 

"Then what are you saying, Agent Scully?" Skinner asked. 

"I just think he's a strange man. And I think it's strange that he is so interested in what we do. And as you said, people can be delusional and appear perfectly normal. They can think ... they are something or someone else if their delusion is great enough." 

Just then, Skinner's intercom buzzed. He pressed a button on his phone, picked up the handset and said, "What is it, Kimberly? I told you I didn't want to be disturbed." 

He was silent while he listened to Kimberly. 

"Send him in," he said. "Fair wants to see me," he said quickly, warning us to put our conversation on hold. 

As if our conversation had conjured him up, he opened the door softly and came into the room. I was struck by two things again. One was how silent he was for such an enormous man. He almost didn't look real, he was so huge. His longish hair curled over his collar, barely keeping within FBI regulations and probably pushing the envelope. 

He was dressed impeccably in what had to be a custom made suit for his gigantic frame. It hugged his shoulders and tapered nicely into a trim waist that was huge, but proportional to the rest of him. The suit was a charcoal gray, his shirt light gray, and his tie black. His shoes were shiny and looked new. He smiled and I found myself sucking in my breath. 

That smile was breathtaking. I glanced at Scully and found her staring as well. Somehow, despite my own inability not to stare, I found her appraisal annoying. The green-eyed monster was rearing its ugly head. I imagined this man could have any woman he pleased and probably did on a regular basis. I knew Scully wasn't prone to flights of fancy or impromptu affairs. But Christ, I would almost find him hard to resist if he put the moves on me, and I wasn't even gay. 

Skinner was the only one who remained cool, seemingly unintimidated and similarly unimpressed by either his size or his looks. "D.D. Fair. What seems to be the problem?" 

"I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting. However, Agents Mulder and Scully should hear this anyway." 

"What's that, Sir?" I asked. 

Skinner flashed me a warning look to keep my mouth shut. He approached the desk and laid a small metal circle on the edge of Skinner's desk that looked like a watch battery. 

"What is it?" Skinner asked. 

I peered closer, as did Scully. 

Fair answered, "It's a bug. Highly advanced one too, government issue only." 

Skinner's eyes snapped up to his. He backed up his chair slightly and I could tell he didn't like Fair towering over him. 

Fair turned and grabbed a chair from the corner and came over to sit next to Scully. He was apparently aware of the effect of his size and sitting down minimized it. 

"Where did you get it?" Skinner asked. 

"From behind my clock in my office." 

Skinner's eyes widened slightly. His lips pursed. "Any idea who put it there?" 

"I think Spender put it there." 

"Why's that?" 

"I didn't suspect a thing, but after Agents Mulder and Scully's case in Connecticut and his body being found there, I surmised he found out somehow where they were going. I still didn't think of this; I thought it was probably a leak through accounting or my secretary or something." 

"What made you check for bugs?" 

"Agent Mulder suggested it." He nodded his approval at me and I smiled weakly. 

Skinner scowled again. "Spender's dead." 

"Yes, but I'm fairly certain he placed this before he was killed. I had the lab disable it. Who knows where the listening end of it is?" 

Skinner opened the file. "I'll note it in the file and that you think it is related to this case." 

Fair nodded. "Well, I don't know if it's any help, but I wanted you all to know about it." 

"Thank you, Sir," Scully replied. 

He nodded and smiled flirtatiously at her. I couldn't believe it when she blushed. 

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked suddenly, annoyed and hating myself for being jealous. 

"Certainly, Agent Mulder," he replied quietly. 

Skinner's voice held warning, "Agent Mulder ... " 

"Why do you never go out in the sun?" I blurted out. 

He smiled slowly. He glanced at the case file on Skinner's desk. "Do you think I'm a vampire, Agent Mulder?" 

I swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable under his steady gaze. "Just answer the question," I demanded. 

I fully expected him to tell me to go fuck myself any minute, or rant about how ridiculous I was. Instead he raised his eyebrows and smiled widely, apparently amused. 

"I have a condition called Discoid Lupus Erythematosus." 

I frowned, barely registering the big words. Scully knew them, though. "That would explain it," she said, sounding relieved to have a valid excuse for his odd behavior. 

"How about explaining it to me?" I asked testily. 

He grinned and she turned to me, annoyed at the rudeness I couldn't seem to rein in. I had been this man's advocate and now I was jealous of him. I  
knew Scully loved me. What the hell was wrong with me? I wondered. 

"Lupus causes extreme photosensitivity to UV rays," Scully explained. "Discoid is the least debilitating form, but it's certainly an issue to be addressed by anyone that suffers from the disease." 

"In English?" Skinner requested. 

She smiled at him. "Sunlight burns his skin. Hurts like hell. It's an allergy to UV rays, actually." 

"Ouch," Skinner winced as he sympathized. 

Fair nodded humbly. "It sucks, frankly," he said in plain language. 

Scully and Skinner chuckled. I didn't. I stared at him, seeing something odd in his eyes when he looked at me, almost through me. 

Scully suddenly put her hand on his forearm where it rested on the chair arm. I swore I saw him shudder as he turned his regard to her. She said softly, "I'm sorry, Sir. That's got to be a difficult thing to live with." 

He smiled gently. "I'm used to it. I figure I've got quite a few good years left." 

"Of course! I'm sure you do, Sir. I didn't mean to imply ..." 

"If I take care of myself, my life span doesn't need to be unnecessarily shortened. I'm still a young man." 

"Yes, you are, Sir. I'm sorry ..." 

"Stop apologizing, Agent Scully. It's no big deal, my cross to bear." 

"So that's why you have an office with no windows." 

"And why I come in before dawn and leave after dark." He chuckled and then teased, "They think I'm soooo dedicated." 

We all laughed then. We couldn't help it. His easy acceptance of a critical medical condition was inspirational, even if I hated him more every second for the way he looked at Scully. 

"I'll be going now." He looked at each of us in turn. "I hear the rumors, Agents. I know everyone is trying to figure me out. But frankly, I don't announce my condition. I don't want the agents under me to perceive it as a weakness. Can you understand that?" We all nodded. "I'd appreciate you keeping this to yourselves. I'd rather deal with the rumors." 

"We understand, Ken. Thanks for bringing this down. I'll bag it for evidence in the file." 

"Talk to you all later." He turned on his heel and exited. 

I noticed again the curious ... stillness about him. He was almost statue-like, but that's not quite the term I was looking for. He wasn't rigid in his stance or anything but he appeared ... hard, his facial features moving little except when he smiled. I decided I was probably reading way too much into this. 

"You could have blown it there, Agent Mulder," Skinner stated frankly. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to ask." 

Skinner gave me the look that said he knew I was full of shit. "You're lucky he didn't tell you it was none of your friggin' business." 

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me." 

He looked at me again, clearly telling me he knew exactly what got into me and I had better knock it off. "That will be all, Agents," he said as he dismissed us with a wave. 

We stood and made our way out, finding Kimberly blushing and looking at the back side of D.D. Fair as he exited the vestibule into the hallway. I thought, 'Damn, what I wouldn't do to have that effect on women. Well, at least one woman in particular.' 

**PART 4 (NC-17)**  
**KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION**  
**FALLS CHURCH, VA**  
**10 WEEKS LATER**

One month after that meeting, it began. The event that I'd known was coming. Bloodless bodies began showing up. First in Augusta, Georgia and then Atlanta. The next ones were found in Aiken, the southern part of South Carolina, a mere 17 miles from Augusta, Georgia. Always, there were two. Hilton Head, South Carolina, Raleigh and Valdese, North Carolina. And finally coming close. Williamsburg, West Virginia, Richmond, now D.C. I knew Falls Church was next. By the time she hit North Carolina, I could sense her. I think I'd been sensing her all along. Those feelings of foreboding I had must surely have been her. 

I tried to reach out to her and ask her to meet with me. But she cloaked her mind well and I couldn't pinpoint her location or get inside. But I knew she was there, lurking on the outside, and it was a matter of time before we met. Judging by her audacious attempts to expose us and lead authorities to my door by leaving a trail of blood, our meeting would not be amicable. It would be a battle. 

I dreaded it at the same time that I looked forward to it. I dreaded it because I didn't know how powerful she was now. For that matter, I didn't know how powerful I was at this time. I tried practicing various skills and pushing myself to the limit. I looked forward to it, only to end this thing once and for all. At the end, I would either be free of her forever more, or I would be destroyed. I was sick of living with this impending cloud over my shoulder. I had no intention of spending the rest of my undead years alone. 

Alex agreed to spar with me, even knowing he could get hurt. We practiced trying to invade one another's minds while blocking the other out. I was much better at this than he, but he wasn't bad. His power had grown enormously in a short time. 

I fed, I steeped the blood, and I shared with Alex. He quickly gained skills. By the day, his powers increased. I was frantic now to make him as strong as possible. The day had come. I had to tell him the whole truth. I had to prepare him for what might be ... the end ... for both of us. 

When I'd told him she was coming and that was the reason for all this exercising, he did not rant and rave and call me names like I had expected. He stared at me, his face falling into a frown. His eyes were moist, but no tears fell. He graced me with such a look of betrayal it speared my heart in two. 

After a long silence, he said, "All this time, you knew she would come. Even I did, by the way you talked. But you knew all along, didn't you? You knew that her coming would mean she was out to destroy me ... and you withheld that from me." 

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to that," I replied quietly. 

"But you knew." 

"Yes, I suspected that would be the case. Would it have changed your decision to take the blood?" 

He didn't answer my question, but only said, "You lied to me." 

"No. I truly wasn't sure. And ... if I lied, it was by omission, not to mislead you. Omission to protect you." 

"You should have told me. Your motives don't mean anything to me now. All I feel is ... how could you keep this from me?" He swallowed, reining in his hurt and emotional upset. Then whispered, his voice a violent hiss, "I trusted you. Do you know how hard that is for me?" 

He was clearly thinking that he'd been an idiot to be that vulnerable to me. That he should have known better than to trust anyone ever again. And though he wouldn't admit it, because he loved me, this hurt him even more. He felt betrayed, not protected, simply because I hadn't given him all the facts. I had withheld part of the danger from him. I'm sure my forthrightness about what he would be sacrificing had been part of the reason he'd agreed to do it, because he felt that I was withholding nothing from him, being totally honest with him simply by virtue of telling him the down side of all this. 

Now he was finding out that I hadn't told him everything. I scanned him a little deeper and realized he was replaying every betrayal by everyone in his life and beating himself up more than he was blaming me. My heart ached for him and his pain. I realized my mistake immediately. I should have told him I was beholden for permission to make him and that there might be consequences. I had truly hoped I wouldn't have to pay those consequences. 

I suppressed a sob and reached for him, but he batted my hand away like lightning and turned his back to me. "Alex, please. I screwed up. I should have told you everything from the beginning, but you have to understand." 

"Understand what?" he asked through clenched teeth, his back still to me. "That you made me knowing I would be destroyed?" 

"I haven't had anyone in so ... long. I needed you, Alex. I just wanted a little time where life wasn't so ... fucked up. I wanted to enjoy being with you, having you by my side, teaching you all the things my master never taught me. I wanted ... for the first time in a century, to share my life with someone ... and not have it be all cloak and dagger ... just enjoy loving you for a while. And I don't know that you will be destroyed. I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening." 

He turned to me now. I didn't hide any of my emotions. I'd told him my feelings for him. But truth be told, I'd always held back some. I'd wanted that dominant position in his life. I wanted his gratitude and his submissiveness. Now I realized all that did was feed my ego. And if I lost him ... my ego was pretty useless either way. I wanted a companion, not a lap dog. And so I let him see me, my face and my mind wide open. I let him see the sadness. 

He entered my mind and I let him in, no barriers. I didn't even give a token resistance. I thought of losing him, and let the crushing despair, sadness and heartache that thought caused broadcast itself to him. A wounded sound escaped the back of my throat, "Ahhh ..." 

He gasped at the depth of my emotion for him. "I love you, Alex. Please don't be angry with me. Stay with me. We need each other. I need you ... and whether you believe me or not, you need me. Together we might be able to defeat her, be done with her forever. Alone ... I wouldn't put any money on the outcome for either one of us." 

He was still as a statue and silent for a long time. Then he nodded and said, "One condition." 

"Anything, love." 

"No secrets ... EVER again. Not for the sake of peace, not for the sake of protection. For no reason ... NO secrets. I'd rather be upset, angry, frightened ... anything ... anything but lied to. I can't TAKE betrayal, Gareth. I've had too much of it in my life. I can't ... no, I WON'T tolerate it!" His voice was rising in volume. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to trust you? Huh? To let myself believe and put myself in your hands completely? To let myself be vulnerable and hurt by you for a greater end? To know that for a while, I would be one hundred percent dependent on you? Do you have any FUCKING idea how hard that was for me?" he screamed at the end. 

His chin quivered with emotion as he once again tried to regain his composure, embarrassed by his outburst and what he had just revealed to me. 

I was silent. 

"I don't think you do," he croaked, his voice now barely above a whisper. 

"It's a deal, Alex. I swear. I'll never lie to you again. I'll never keep anything from you no matter how painful the truth is. I'd never harm you intentionally, Alex. You MUST believe me." 

"It's a one shot deal, Gareth. Screw this up and I WILL leave you. It's my black hole. Trust. I MUST have it ... from you. You MUST be able to share everything with me. I can't have it any other way. I just ... can't." 

"You have it, Pet. Everything I am. No secrets." 

"Promise me," he requested. 

"I promise." 

He came into my arms then and we embraced. I buried my nose in his soft hair and sighed, letting the tears come. He shivered and held me tight while I cried. I could feel his defenses lower and finally crumple. We were going to be all right. But it had been a close call. 

I raised from his shoulder and he lifted his head to mine. Our lips barely touched. His tongue snaked out hesitantly and I met it half way, twirling my agile tongue around the end of his. Our tongues elongated to a couple of inches outside our mouths. They tangled gently and he moaned softly. 

He pulled back. He wanted answers now before his arousal took him over. It was time for me to prove my promise. "How close is she?" 

"I can feel her, but I can't pinpoint her location. She been leaving a trail of bodies from Augusta and on up the coastline. The police are baffled, of course. But her latest kill was in D.C. I'm sure she's heading here. I've sensed her, but she cloaks her mind well. We need to be as good at it as she is. She will prey on your weaknesses if she senses them." I stared at him, giving him a significant look. 

"Meaning if she senses my trust in you is broken ..." 

"She will fill your head with lies and try to turn you against me." 

"It won't happen." 

"Don't be too quick to assume. Be sure of your feelings, Alex. Be very sure. I know I don't deserve it, but I'm asking for your complete faith. You must choose the depth of your devotion to me. She will know, no matter what you tell yourself." 

"Do you think she will try to bargain with you?" 

"Maybe. I just don't know. That's the problem. She may just attack. Or she may be skilled in the art of subterfuge. I haven't seen her in three hundred years, remember. I wish I knew more." 

He hung his head. Softly, he said, "I do love you, Gareth." 

"Sometimes that's not enough." 

"It will be. That's why you ... hiding this from me ... hurt so much. You don't realize how hard it is for me to love. I don't give my heart away easily. I never have. I only have once before." 

"What happened?" 

"She betrayed me," he said without malice. That said it all. He wouldn't be able to bear another lover betraying him. I vowed silently to never let him down again. 

"Did you ever reconcile yourself to the betrayal?" 

"Yes. I realized much later she was only doing what she needed to do to survive. Just like I did my whole life. I was on whatever side of the fence seemed the safest at the moment. That didn't make it hurt any less, though." 

"You can't be wishy-washy in this situation. I have to ask for everything, Alex. I'll give you all of me. But you have to do the same." 

"I know that, and I'm not divided. That's the whole point. I got tired of playing both ends against the middle and never knowing if I would be crushed in between. I needed to believe in something. I needed to take a stand or have no self-respect left. I made a gigantic leap of faith with you, Gareth." 

"And I've let you down. I'm sorry, Alex. I swear on my honor. It won't happen again." 

He smiled softly then, his lips closed. "I believe you." 

"Do you?" 

"Yes. I forget how long you've lived. I know loneliness, Gareth. I thought no one knew it better than I. Loneliness and I have been bosom buddies for many years. I can't even imagine the depth of your loneliness all these years." 

I swallowed and licked my lips. "Your melancholy may have been one of the things that drew me to you. I sensed that you might understand how utterly alone I felt. I've lived among mortals just to have contact with other minds. But it's not the same. It's a band-aid, but it doesn't cure the problem. I still haven't had anyone that I could let know me for who ... and WHAT I am." 

"I did understand your need for companionship and your loneliness. And I thought we could cure that for each other. And we did." 

"Do we still?" 

"Yes. You cure my loneliness anyway." 

"You're giving me a second chance. Not to be your master, but to be your friend and companion. That's what I want, Alex. I want a friend and a lover. Someone I can count on to watch my back." 

He stepped into me again. "I've got your back, partner." 

I chuckled and embraced him again. "Let's make love, dear Alex. Let's reconnect the way we do so well." 

"Have you fed?" 

"Yes, earlier when you were spying on Mulder and Scully." 

"What are we doing with them?" 

"I don't know. They've looked for her. And once the bodies started showing up, you knew they were following the trail. But they have been unable to catch up with her. And they won't if she doesn't want to be caught up to." 

"Did they ask you about the bodies?" 

I had told him of the bodies and that we would need to figure out who was exposing us. I'd already known, but had kept it from him. I regretted it now. He'd gone on his merry way, thinking this was another rogue like David that we would easily take out when the time was right. 

"Yes, after the first two, they came to me and told me. In fact, they heard about them before I did. I started following her trail then. I can't find her, though. I know where's she been, but that doesn't help me much. But I feel her presence all the time now. She is close." 

He took my hand. "Well, we'll just have to be ready for her then." 

I smiled sadly at him. "I love you so well, Alex. I don't deserve you." 

"No, actually, I probably don't deserve you. But I'll take you anyway, because that's the kind of guy I am," he teased gently. 

I chuckled now. "Let's go. There's nothing more we can do tonight." 

I turned and he walked beside me, holding my hand. We ascended the sweeping staircase off the foyer that led to the second story. We were perfectly silent on the carpeted floor, practicing our stealth unconsciously even when it wasn't necessary. Hopefully, this heightened sense of awareness and caution would not have to last forever. Everyone needs someone who can know them completely and love them unconditionally. Mulder and Scully had found that in each other. I wanted it with Alex. Without a companion for the ages, continuing to live on was just too hard. I was weary of existing alone. 

This was the end of the line for me. I would have Alex or I would die. Zebrosia probably knew exactly how many of us there were left in the world. She'd always kept a tight rein on the numbers, and for good reason. Too many become too visible and threatened the existence of all. I understood that. She'd always been the undisputed Queen of the Blood Drinkers. The oldest known blood drinker. If there was one older, I knew nothing of them. 

But this wasn't about numbers. No, I hadn't asked permission to bring Alex to me like I had been commanded to do three hundred years ago. But she'd not made herself available for the asking, either. No, this was personal. I'd killed her favorite companion. She'd purposely hidden herself from me and left me to suffer our unresolved feud ... alone. Somehow, she'd known this was worse penance than being destroyed. Somehow, she knew of my desire to have someone to call my own. And for 300 years, she'd denied me this comfort. I'd had no choice, I told myself, but to take my chances. I'd searched too long and been alone to long. I simply couldn't bear it anymore. 

It would end here, for better or worse. I'd made my bed. Now I had to lie in it, so to speak. Being destroyed didn't scare me all that much, to be honest. Seeing Alex destroyed was what twisted a knife in my heart. Were that to happen, I would probably destroy myself. I just didn't have the heart to go on alone anymore. 

**XXXXXXXXXX**  
**THIS PORTION NC-17**

We reached the bedroom and undressed silently, letting our hands roam over one another's bodies. He was hard and solid against my chest, his hands squeezing my ass the way I liked. I leaned in and kissed his neck, snaking a hand between his legs from the rear to cup his balls and fondle gently. He moaned and tipped his ass up to give me better access. I continued to suckle his neck, feeling the familiar rush of arousal that always came the instant I touched him. 

The few times I'd let him take me, I'd been a non-participant, like I was doing him a favor. I realized this was another way of withholding myself from him and it wasn't fair. I was turning over a new leaf. If I asked for his total trust, I had to be willing to give it as well. 

He backed up to lay on the bed and I stopped him. He looked at me curiously when I spun his back to the room and laid down on my back, spreading my legs and lifting my knees slightly. "Come here, lover." 

His eyes were wide and he panted faster as he crawled onto the bed on all fours. He slid between my legs and lowered himself down, dragging his chest up over mine until he reached my mouth. His mouth was hungry  
when it came down on mine and I let him devour me, painting my mouth with his agile tongue. 

I shuddered as his hands pinched my nipples and I hissed with pleasure, my fangs extending. He threw his head back as I grasped his cock and pumped him gently. His mouth opened on a groan and I saw his teeth lengthen as mine just had. My skin was warm from having fed earlier in the evening. His was cold and the contrast was delicious. His cock was hard as steel, as cool as glass, but it throbbed mightily in my hand and expanded with every beat of his heart that pumped his borrowed blood. 

I let go of him and he moaned. "Awww, felt so good." 

"This will feel better," I murmured and spread my legs wide, hoisting my thick legs into the air by grasping myself behind the knees. My stomach muscles curled into tight knots with my position and clenched further in anticipation when I saw the expression of wonder on his face. "Like this?" he whispered, a touch of amazement in his voice. 

"Yes, Pet. Take me just like this and look into my eyes when you do." 

He hoisted himself into the right position, his cool cock resting lightly at my entrance. His elbows came down on the bed next to my torso. I was too big for him to tower over me. He raised his eyes to mine and when he stretched his neck up and I turned my head down, our lips could meet. 

We kissed languidly, enjoying the frisson of arousal that was building. "Come inside," I said softly, my voice an octave lower. 

He stared at me and braced himself. No words were spoken as he shoved suddenly, impaling me on his rock hard cock. I groaned as he spread my ass wide in one decisive stroke and pushed deep until our nuts were crushed together. He began to pump his hips, slowly at first, savoring the feeling. 

He blinked slowly and grunted softly with each impact that buried him deep. I tightened my ass muscles as much as I could and rhythmically milked his shaft. I whispered, "Make it last as long as you can, lover." 

He nodded. "Oh, Jesus, this is good," he panted. 

I smiled at him and he returned it, never losing his rhythm, sinking, retreating, sinking, retreating. I felt him expand inside me and moaned as his next stroke sank deeper into me, asking a little more of my sphincter muscle as it widened to accommodate him. 

His strokes were languid but his face was anything but composed. He grimaced with pleasure, moaning, "Awwww, yeah," every time his cock expanded, journeying deeper inside me. 

I felt his mind touch mine and I spoke to him inside his head,*Come inside, lover.* 

His mind melded with mine, sinking deep. I let him past the final wall and he was so deep inside me, at my core. I recalled every feeling  
of excitement I'd had since seeing him, showing him pictures of himself as I saw him ... graceful, fierce, loyal, sexy beyond compare. 

He stuttered inside my head, *Awww, Jesus. Awww, God, Gareth. Oh, you make me wild. I lust so for you. Mmmm, fuck! Yes! Awww, yeah, take me deep, deeper. Ahhh, man, I love you.* 

My heart melted. I sank gently into his mind and felt his awe, his reverence, his feeling of belonging when he was with me, of finally having found his place in the world. No wonder he'd been so shaken by my withheld information. I hadn't just threatened our relationship. I had threatened this sense of belonging, something he felt for the first time ever in his life. And the best, I felt his trust, flowing out of him and flowing into me. 

His hips sped up and his head fell to my breast as his breathing increased and he grunted with every stroke. He was big now, punching deep into my core, burying himself to the balls every time, keeping me stretched. The feeling was divine. I roared with pleasure, "Arrrrrgggg, yyeeaaahhh!" 

He kissed my nipple and I felt his fang pierce my skin. He jerked his head up. "Sorry! It was an accident!" 

I cupped his head and brought it back down, feeling my skin itch and burn where his fang had pierced me, right next to my nipple. *It's O.K. Drink.* 

"What?" he asked out loud. 

_Go ahead. Drink from there. It doesn't matter._

"Oh, Ggoodd, yes!" he moaned and bit into my breast, his fangs on either side of my nipple, his bottom teeth, worrying my nipple that was rigid as a pebble. 

"Oh fuck!" I shouted aloud, as I felt it burn as he suckled hard, pulling the blood into his mouth through my toughened skin. Every pull made my nipple pinch and burn. There was a main vein here. He had to pull hard to draw the blood from the muscle of my chest. The blood in my skin and muscle was nearly crystallized with age. It hurt, but the sensations went right to my cock and I felt myself throb and enlarge. It was erotic pain at its finest. 

He growled with pleasure and I shouted to him internally, *Fuck me, Alex. With everything you have. Oh that's so good. Suck my tit! Oh, baby, suck it hard as you can! Make it hurt!* 

He grunted loudly, his hips speeding up to pummel my ass. He inhaled deeply through his nose and suckled very, veerryy hard! 

My entire body seized with the sensations he was causing me. No one had ever suckled my breast before. His pulling and licking my nipple at the same time was driving me beyond any ecstasy I'd ever felt. My nuts convulsed and without warning began to fire sperm up my shaft. I tingled all over from my toes to my scalp. I hissed long and loud in orgasmic ecstasy, my cock pouring my seed onto my stomach between us. It ran down my sides, his stomach dragging over it with every thrust. His hands reached above his head and he cupped my shoulders, using them for leverage to pound himself into my body harshly, increasing the violence of his thrusts. 

I was keening, hissing and spitting as I emptied my over inflated balls. He lifted his fangs from my skin and jerked as if having a seizure. "Aaaaaahhhhhh, aaaaaaahhhhhh, aaaaaahhhhhh, FUCK YEEESSSSS!" he screamed as his cock throbbed and began blowing me full of his cold seed. "OH HOLY SHIT, GAARREETTHH! OH GOD, OH SHIT, OH GOD, COMING SO **HARD! OH, AWWW, HOW CAN IT BE THIS GOOD?! AAAAHHHH, FUCK, HOW CAN I** **COME THIS LONG?! SO HARD."**

He screamed and hissed unintelligibly as we both continued to orgasm. Our minds sank deeply together. I released a cascade of memories, feelings, snapshots of him, shouting my devotion and love to him through our connection. Then he shattered my heart by screaming inside my mind, "OH DAMN. OH FUCK, YOU DO LOVE ME! YOU OWN MY SOUL. **I'M ALL YOURS! I LOVE YOU! MMAASSTTEERR!"**

I wept quietly with joy as my orgasm died down and he collapsed in a heap on my chest. His hot tongue, in contrast to his cool skin, snaked out and licked the dribble of blood near my nipple. My skin was already completely healed over. I could still feel the sting of his fangs and the burning in my nipples, though. We rode out the tremors of the aftershocks from the unearthly orgasm we'd both experienced. 

**XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION**

He was a body blanket sprawled on top of me. I let my legs down and cradled him, wrapping my arms around him and letting his head rest on my breastbone. I perched my chin on his head and moved it over his soft hair, letting my breath flutter it across his forehead. I kissed his hair and squeezed him tight. 

He snuggled into me deeper, spreading his legs and straddling my hips, but keeping his chest tight to mine. We stayed this way for a long time. We were sticky and I didn't care. He was beginning to feel warm from my blood. I sighed in contentment. Finally, I asked, *Are you all right, Pet?* 

_Never been better._

_Are you embarrassed?_

_A little, but I meant it._

_Pet?_

_Yeah?_

_That door swings both ways._

His head lifted off my chest and he stared into my eyes. He said nothing but I smiled at him. Out loud I said, "You own MY soul too, Alex." 

He started to shake his head. I cupped in both hands and kissed him lightly. "No more Master." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I am your teacher, not your master. I am your lover, not your boss. I am your companion, not your guardian. I am yours as much as you are ever mine. Do you understand?" 

He licked his lips, his fangs now tucked snugly into his gums. He smiled an odd smile, "You mean it?" 

"Equals, Alex. From here on out." 

He wrapped his arms around my neck and squeezed hard. "I've never felt like this before," he said softly. 

I tipped his face to mine and kissed him again softly. "I don't think I have either, Alex. And I've been around a lot longer than you have." 

He laid his head back down. As we drifted off to sleep with the coming of the dawn, he mumbled, "Love you." 

I petted his hair and smiled down at the crown of head. "Love you too, Pet." 

He was already fast asleep, the coming dawn still taking his faculties quicker than it took mine. I floated in a half sleep for quite some time, plotting what we could do to prepare for the coming confrontation with Zebrosia. There were so many variables. I hugged him to me again and drifted off to sleep. My last thought was, 'I won't lose you, Alex. I'll win or die trying.' 

**PART 5 (PG-13)**  
**KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION**  
**FALLS CHURCH, VA**

I woke at sunset, surprised to find myself alone in the bed. I rose and showered and pulled the soiled sheets off the bed. I dressed and made my way downstairs. I went into the living room and found him standing by the far wall near the fire place. 

He knew I was there without looking up and immediately began speaking. "Oh my God, Gareth. Something is really different." 

"What do you mean? I asked as I entered the living room through he arch. "Are you all right?" 

"I feel weird. Wonderful but weird. I mean ... my body feels heavier yet I feel lighter when I walk, almost like I'm gliding." 

"What else?" I asked, my attention fully on him now. Knowing the level of his abilities was critical as he developed. 

"I feel stronger, Gareth." 

"You get stronger every time you drink from me." 

"This is different. A big jump. I mean I feel a LOT stronger." 

"Let's go out in the country and test you." 

He smiled and looked down at the fire place that was set with paper and logs. The paper and two seconds later, the wood, burst into flames! He'd lit it as easily as I could now! "Holy Shit, Alex!" 

He moved so fast it was as if he'd vanished. My vampiric eyes could track him, but I knew to a mortal it would be as if he'd simply disappeared. He stood at my side and smiled a wide, lop-sided smile. 

I looked closely and could see the changes in his skin. It was smoother, whiter, and the laugh lines around his eyes were gone. I touched his cheek. "My Lord, Alex. It was a few decades before my skin was that texture." 

"Maybe it all caught up to me. All this drinking from you." 

"Maybe. But I think there's something else going on here. What was different about last night?" 

"We were fucking like bunnies?" he asked cheekily. 

I laughed at his good humor. "That's nothing different," I teased back. 

He grinned but then got serious. "It was different, though. Even that was different, Gareth, and you know it. It was so much more intense than ever before." His voice dropped. "You let me in like never before." 

"I keep my promises, Alex. You'll never be on the outside again." 

He darted in to me and kissed me, hard and quick. 

I flashed on the image of him with his fangs sunk into my chest, suckling me like a babe and how euphoric it had been. "Oh my God!" I exclaimed. 

"What?" 

"I think I know what happened, Alex." 

"Know what?" 

"You drank from my chest, not my jugular." 

He went still. "It was harder to pull it out." 

"Yes, because you were literally sucking it out of my muscle tissue. The blood as we age is absorbed into the skin and crystallizes. It's what makes us so hard, our skin like leather, our faces more flawless. That blood does not flow in our veins, Alex. It fills all the cells of the once living skin and keeps it from decomposing." 

"So it is ... the oldest blood in your body," he said as if the light bulb went on in his head. 

"Yes, and the strongest. That is why we say 'steeped in blood'. We steep it. It sinks into our very skin, and gives us a body that lives beyond mortal death." 

"It was thick and very ... almost gelatin like." 

I smiled. "I think I just figured out how we are going to make you strong ... fast. God, why didn't I think of it before?" 

"Did anyone ever do it for you?" 

"No, I didn't know about it ... or I never thought of it. I'll bet not many have, if any. This is all conjecture." 

"Sounds like more than conjecture." 

"We'll have to test it tonight." 

"You want me to drink again from your ... " 

"From my breast, Pet. Yes, I do, every night from now on until this battle is over." 

His eyes sparkled with delight and anticipation. "That blood last night was so ... " he licked his lips as if remembering the taste. "I almost came the minute it hit my tongue." 

I suppressed a shiver of excitement. "We're on to something, Alex. If you enjoyed it more, all the better." 

"Ooo, strong blood, and oh, by the way, the most intense ecstasy you'll ever feel as a little ... side benefit," he said facetiously. 

I laughed and pulled him to me. "Let's go hunt, love. I want to be nice and full to replace what I'm going to lose." 

He jerked back, having had a sudden thought. "I won't weaken you, will I?" 

"I hadn't thought of that. I don't feel weaker. Let's go test this out. We'll have to play it by ear. This is all experimentation. I could be wrong." 

"It's the best theory I can think of." 

"We don't have much time for trial and error. We'll have to hope I'm right." 

"If it weakens you, I will stop." 

"No, we will just lessen your intake, some from my breast, some from my neck. But you must become as strong as we can make you as fast as we can. There is no pain?" 

"No." 

"I thought if you developed too rapidly, there would be pain." 

"Maybe with regular blood there would be, but perhaps with this, the restorative powers and the adjustment of the body is quicker as well." 

"Only one way to find out." 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

**HOOVER BUILDING**  
**X-FILES BASEMENT OFFICE**  
**TWO DAYS LATER**  
6:00 PM 

We were working late ... again. I asked Mulder, "Do you really believe him?" 

"Him, who?" he asked. 

"Krycek. Do you really believe he has nothing to do with this?" 

"I hate saying it, but yes. This time, I believe him." 

I looked at him and he was gazing back at me. "I'm stumped." 

"He said this was the work of a female vampire." 

"I know what he said, but ..." 

"You think it's him?" 

"No ... maybe ... I don't know! There supposedly isn't just him. There's this master of his, too. It could be him." I said in frustration. 

"I don't think it's him, Scully. Don't you remember what he said, even before this all started?" 

"At the farmhouse?" 

"Yeah. The reason they killed that creature was because he was leaving bodies about. He made a point of telling us that they don't do that. They believe it exposes them to danger and discovery. He and  
... whoever this Master is of his, dispose of the bodies or don't kill them ... or cover it up somehow." 

"Maybe something changed for him ... or them." 

"What?" 

"I don't know." 

"These killings started in Augusta. They were here." 

"We think they were here. Mulder, we saw them ... fly, for Christ sakes! Who knows how quickly they could get to Atlanta and back?" 

"You believe your eyes now?" he asked, wearing a slightly amused expression at my admission of seeing Alex and his master fly. 

I sighed deeply. "I guess I have to, don't I?" 

"You don't have to do anything, Scully. The point is that you either believe he is what he says he is, or you don't. Either way, he could have killed us easily many times and he hasn't. I'm not saying that makes him Little Lord Fauntleroy, but it does speak in his favor. I don't think he wants us harmed." 

"We need to talk to him again. We need more information on this ... female vamp..." 

"You rang?" a voice sounded from the doorway. 

We both started and looked up to find Alex Krycek leaning negligently against the door jamb. "Jesus, Krycek! Make some freakin' noise, would you?" Mulder scolded. 

"Sorry," he shrugged, unapologetic. 

"How did you get in here?" I asked. 

"Friends in high places," he replied cryptically. 

"We were just talking about you," Mulder admitted. 

"So I heard. The lovely Agent Scully isn't convinced I'm innocent." 

I stared at him, refusing to back down. My lips pursed in an expression of annoyance and he burst out laughing. 

"I don't think this is funny, Krycek! People are dying out there ... fast!" 

His laughter died down. "I don't think it's funny either. It was just your spunk and your expression of defiance that made me laugh." 

"Oh, that makes me feel better," I said sarcastically. 

"Having trouble?" he asked. 

"We may have some leads," I said quietly. 

He wore an amused smile now. "You can't lie to me, Scully. So stop trying, all right?" 

I gave him a dirty look and he turned his attention to Mulder, lifting himself off the door jamb and advancing into the room. I backed away from Mulder's desk where I had been standing and stopped in front of my table. My hand went behind my back in an instinctive gesture, feeling my weapon snugly secure in its holster at my low back. 

He looked down at Mulder and without turning said, "You going to shoot me, Agent Scully?" 

"If you try to harm us, yes." 

Mulder stood up, not liking Krycek towering over him as he sat in his chair. He blinked hard and took Alex's measure, his eyes scanning him from head to toe. 

"What is it?" I asked. 

"I'll be damned," Mulder mumbled. 

Alex just smiled, still amused. "Like the changes, Mulder?" 

Mulder tore his eyes away and looked at me. "He's taller, Scully and he's ... bulkier, I don't know." 

"That's impossible!" I said firmly. Seemed I'd been saying that a lot lately. "He's probably got lifts in his shoes!" 

Mulder looked down. "Sneakers, Scully." 

I looked down and saw what looked like brand new Adidas sneakers. He was wearing new blue jeans and what looked liked a new cotton, blue dress shirt, buttoned up respectably. 

He turned to me. "Impossible like my arm growing back?" 

I just stared at him and said nothing. I was unwilling to take my eyes off him for a second. I'd seen how fast he could move. And whether it was a trick, an optical illusion, bio-genetic enhancement, or if ... it was real, didn't really matter. The point was, I knew he had the ability to get the drop on us if we weren't on our guard, and maybe even if we were. 

He hitched one butt cheek up on the edge of Mulder's desk. "Broke my heart ... growing taller, developing more muscle, without the work, mind you ... having to buy a whole new wardrobe. Gee, what a shame," he said sarcastically. 

"How tall are you?" 

"Six foot, three inches now." 

"Will you grow taller?" 

"I doubt it. Gareth says probably not. We grow about five or ten percent taller. So it depends on how tall you were to start with." 

"I see," Mulder replied. 

Alex was enjoying himself way too much. "Have a seat, Krycek," I said, waving at his arrogant perch on the edge of Mulder's desk. 

He flashed me an insolent look, but lifted to his feet and turned in front of Mulder's desk, lowering himself into the guest chair. I remained standing, unwilling to turn my back on him. 

"What are you doing here?" I asked. 

"I came to give you some information that might help." 

"Like what?" Mulder asked. 

"The name of your killer." 

We both stared at him in silence. I finally spoke. "You know who the killer is?" I said, my voice laced with suspicion. 

"Yes, I do. Trouble is, I don't think that will help you find her." 

"Why not? We'll have an identity to work with." 

"An identity that's 650 years old, Scully. You won't find her in any FBI database. Trust me." 

"You're convinced it's a she," Mulder said. 

"Yes. Her name is Zebrosia. Her last name ... has been lost through the ages. But she is old beyond your imagination." 

"Yes, 650 according to you," I said, unable to keep the facetiousness out of my voice. 

He looked at his lap and up at me again. "Why are you so hostile?" 

"Why am I hostile? Isn't it obvious?" 

"Not really." 

"Krycek, you've been nothing but trouble since we met you. What do you expect me to do? Welcome you with a big hug?" 

He smiled widely now. "That would be nice." He leered at me in an exaggerated fashion. 

Mulder's voice was a growl. "You ever touch her, I'll fucking kill you, Krycek." 

He smiled again at Mulder. "You can't kill me, Mulder. Don't make threats you can't back up. Gets you into trouble. Now, for the sake of peace though, I give you my word. I'm not really interested in the fair Agent Scully." 

"You expect me to believe that?" 

He turned to Mulder. "I won't touch her, Mulder. She's yours. I know that. Plus, I'm under strict orders to help and protect you any way I can." 

"Orders from whom?" 

He grinned again. "My ... companion." 

"No longer your Master, eh, Krycek?" Mulder taunted. 

Alex wasn't ruffled. He turned to Mulder. "No, by his own decree." 

"Tell us what you came here to tell us and get the hell out!" I said forcefully. 

Mulder gave me a look that said to tread lightly. 

"You're welcome," Krycek replied, a hint of disgust at my rudeness in his voice. I didn't give a damn whether he liked it or not. "Very well. You are looking for the Queen of the Blood Drinkers. She is the only one of her kind known that is older than my companion. She and my companion had a feud a long time ago that went unsettled. He believes she is coming to settle the score, so to speak." 

"What did he do to her?" 

"He killed her lover." 

We both went silent at the casual way he said this and then I sighed loudly when he added, "Three hundred years ago." 

After my sigh, I laughed without mirth. This was just getting ridiculous. Alex turned his eyes on me and I felt a small wave of dizziness. I reached behind me to grasp the table and steady myself. It passed as quickly as it came. 

He was silent for several beats and then said. "All right, I'll tell you what I know. It's up to you whether you believe me or not. It's up to you whether you do anything with the information or not." He paused. "She believes in me, Mulder." 

"What?" he asked. 

"Deep down, she knows what I am and she believes it. But it's difficult for her to admit she's been wrong. You know that." 

"Shut up!" I nearly shouted. 

He smiled and I felt the dizziness again. This time it must have showed because Mulder was across the room and steadying my shoulders in an instant. I saw Alex rise behind Mulder's shoulder and shouted, "Look out!" 

Mulder spun around, reaching for his weapon. I felt foolish. Alex just stood there placidly making no move toward us. He stared at me though. "Little jumpy, Scully?" he teased. 

"Screw you, Krycek." 

"Anytime, Agent Scully." 

"Krycek, I warned you. Knock off the innuendo." 

"Only you get to do that, huh?" he asked casually. 

Mulder clenched his teeth and I watched the muscle jump in his jaw. I touched his arm and said quietly, "It's all right, Mulder. He's trying to get to you." 

"No, I'm not, actually. But you two are paranoid about me. So tell me this. If you don't believe in me, Scully ... then why are you so damn scared?" 

"Fuck you," I said quietly. 

He chuckled again and retreated, lowering himself gracefully into the chair again. Mulder moved to the side but stayed near me, facing him. "Backs to the wall, Agents?" he taunted. 

"Get to the fucking point, Krycek!" Mulder exclaimed. 

"Why are you so scared? How do you explain the changes in me? My height alone is an anomaly, " Alex presented. 

He was being so fucking reasonable and logical I wanted to scream. "Look, with all the genetic testing those Consortium bastards were doing, God knows what they could have done to you. There has been work done with Bovine Growth Hormones on humans. It's illegal, but it's been done. There are any number of things that could have happened to you." 

"My, my. She can come up with scientific theories off the cuff, can't she, Mulder? God, that must drive you insane. Does she do this all the time? Or am I special?" 

Mulder couldn't totally suppress the curl at the corner of his mouth that wanted to become a smile and I felt anger shoot through me at his sharing a jest with Alex. Finally, he answered, saying, "You're not special, Krycek. Not in this case." 

"You have to be a product of their experiments. There is no other explanation." 

"Except one you can't accept. I think you do believe in what I am. You're afraid to admit it, because the reality of it is just too frightening. It shakes the foundations of everything you believe in. If I exist, what else could exist? Right?" 

I hung my head. "You're still working for the Consortium. I know it. You won't fool me again, Krycek." 

"They're all dead, Scully," he replied. 

"You mean to tell me Spender was the last of them?" I asked suspiciously. 

"Of the old Consortium, he was the second to the last." 

"Who was the last?" I fired at him, thinking he would never tell me and evade questions like this as he always had in the past. 

"Kersh," he said simply. 

Mulder and I both gasped. Mulder said, "Kersh was in the Consortium?" 

"Of course, you suspected that, didn't you?" He looked at me. "You knew he'd been seen with others who were suspected." 

Mulder asked, "He hasn't been found. How do you know he's dead?" 

"If you're asking if I killed him or not, the answer is no, I didn't." 

"But you know who did," Mulder stated. 

Alex smiled. "Let's say fate intervened. There's a new Consortium now." 

"Who's in it?" 

"I can't tell you that. But I can tell you that they are not going to be working with the aliens. They are going to be working to destroy or chase them off this planet. They plan to thwart colonization." 

"How do they propose to do that?" Mulder asked. 

"I don't know yet." 

"Typical," I said. 

**PART 6 (PG-13)**  
**HOOVER BUILDING**  
**X-FILES BASEMENT OFFICE**

"Get a pencil, Mulder," Alex commanded. 

"I don't need one, Krycek." 

"Oh yeah, that memory of yours. All right, here goes. Although we can't be sure, Zebrosia is most likely on a very specific mission." 

"Which is?" 

"Two fold. One, she is leaving these bodies trying to leave a trail to my companion's door. Maybe she figures he won't escape the police if they find him. Or maybe that will just be a distraction. Who knows?  
Maybe she hopes he'll be charged with the murders. If he were jailed, they would eventually expose him to daylight and he would be destroyed." 

"What else? You said it was two fold," Mulder reminded him. 

His face went grim and he stared Mulder in the eye. "She wants to destroy me." 

"Why?" Mulder asked automatically, his stance relenting some. "What makes you so important?" 

He bit the inside of his cheek as if holding back a retort. "She wants to take from Gareth what he took from her." 

Mulder thought about this for a second and then said, "But you said he killed her lover. Wouldn't that mean she would want to kill his lover?" 

"Yes," Alex said plainly. 

Mulder scrunched his brow. My mouth opened as I realized what he was saying. I looked at Mulder as the realization of what Alex had admitted dawned on his face. 

"Oh," he said simply. 

Alex laughed again. "So you see, Mulder, your fair Agent Scully is safe from me." 

"Just because you have a male lover doesn't mean you don't like women too," he replied. 

"How enlightened of you, Mulder. And you're right. However, I'm happy with the way things are. I don't need anything else." 

"You've always done things just because you wanted to. When did need ever come into it?" Mulder said bitingly. 

Alex looked at him, a slightly confused look on his face. When Mulder finally met his gaze he said, "It was always about need, Mulder." 

Mulder just looked down, refusing to enter into this debate. 

"Look, this is getting us nowhere. Here's the deal. She is strong beyond anything you can imagine. Stronger than those green blooded bastards. She could kill you both in a heartbeat. Believe it. If you think you locate her, DO NOT under any circumstances try to take her into custody." 

"That's asking too much, Krycek," I answered. "IF she exists and IF we find her, she will be a murder suspect. We have an obligation to try and take her down." 

He regarded me seriously. "Then you'll die. If you're smart, you'll call me. This is my cell phone number," he said as he scribbled it on a Post It note from Mulder's desk. He ripped off the bright pink sheet and stuck it in the center of Mulder's blotter. "I mean it. Unless you have a death wish, if you find her, call me. Let us take of her." 

Mulder looked at him for a moment as though trying to think of something to say. Finally he said, "You mean this. You believe she will kill us." 

"If you find yourselves between her and me ... yes." 

"You are going to fight her?" Mulder asked. 

"We both are, me and my companion. Together we stand a chance against her." 

"Two men against one woman," I clarified. 

He nodded. "She's that strong. Even at that, we're not sure we will prevail. But it's the only chance we have of putting an end to her. We need to pool our resources, he and I. You wouldn't stand a chance." 

I was struck by the sincerity in his tone. There was more to this than met the eye. He really believed this. I couldn't believe he could be this good an actor. He frowned heavily and I realized he wasn't happy about the coming confrontation. 

"Tough to be faced with the big bad wolf and not be sure of the outcome, isn't it, Krycek? How does it feel to have unseen enemies and never know when they are going to strike?" 

"Scully, stop it," Mulder scolded and I gave him a dirty look. 

Alex stood, and my eyes tracked him on the way up. Mulder was right. Whether he had grown or was wearing lifts in those sneakers, which I doubted ... he was definitely taller. Mulder used to be taller than him. Now, Alex was taller than Mulder by about three inches. 

He approached the door way and turned. He regarded us silently for a few minutes and tipped his head to one side as if receiving a message. Then he focused on us again. "I know you won't believe me, but I was never your enemy. And Agent Scully, to answer your questions ... it sucks to know potential disaster is coming and feel powerless against it. The only thing that can kill her, besides us, is sun or fire. And even fire she would resist for a while. 

"I know you won't believe me," he said looking at me. He turned to Mulder. "But you might, so I'll tell you. She can paralyze you with her mind. She can make objects fly across a room. She can fly. And ... she can start fires with the will of her mind. She can move so fast, your human eye will not see her move. It will be as if she's vanished. You saw me do it. She's probably a lot faster than I am. She can hear through walls and see for miles." 

He paused and looked at me. "I know you've wished I would just disappear many times. That I would be gone from your lives." 

I shook my head in denial, suddenly wondering how he was making me feel like the bad guy here. 

He shrugged. "You may get your wish. Because if my companion and I don't destroy her, she will have destroyed us. This will be a fight to the death. And there's every possibility that she will be the victor. In  
case you're curious just how nasty this vampire queen is ... I'm scared.  
I'm VERY scared." 

This last was said quietly. On that note, he turned and left the office. Mulder and I stared after his retreating back. "Are you getting the same bad feeling I'm getting, Mulder?" 

"Yeah, I am, unfortunately. I know he was just a man like every other man before, but he wasn't afraid of much. Now he has all this strength and all these abilities and he's scared of this vampire." 

"This woman." 

"It's a vampire, Scully, and you know it," he stated, not even bothering to debate with me about it. He wasn't even going to argue about that aspect with me anymore. I felt a flash of anger and tamped it down. 

"Oh!" I exclaimed as I thought of Alex leaving. I ran out into the hallway and scanned the floor indicator above the elevator. It stopped on the third floor. I had no way of knowing if that was Alex's elevator or not, if he'd gotten off on another floor, or if he was  
still in the elevator or not. 

Mulder poked his head out, saw the direction of my gaze and followed it. I turned to see him chew on his lip. He drove me nuts when he did that. I could almost see the gears turning in his head. He was incredibly sexy when he was chewing on a problem. Those unconscious mannerisms of twiddling with a pencil, chewing his lips, drove me crazy. 

"Want to follow?" he said. 

"Let's," I replied. 

I hit the button to call the elevator and he came out into the hall, locking the office behind us. The car arrived and we got in. As it lifted to the third floor I said, "He might have gotten off sooner. I don't even know if it made stops before the third floor." 

"Can't hurt to take a look. He said he had friends in high places. Who do you think it is?" 

"I don't know. I only know I don't think it's Skinner." 

"I agree." 

The door opened and we went down the hallway, trying to peek into the offices on the floor. Most had glass windows. Some had the blinds shut. We did a circuit of the hallway on the floor and saw nothing. "There's no way to tell which office he's in, even if he did come up here," I said. 

"Want to wait by the elevator and see if we see him?" 

"No, this was silly anyway. He had too much of a head start." 

The halls were deserted and I looked down the hallway to the left and again in front of us and saw nothing. It was late. Most agents had gone home. This floor was all brass though and most of them would have gone home as well. It was even dark enough out for D.D. Fair to have left. 

I thought of him and felt a dart of some unknown panic. He was a huge man. Alex said that he grew when he became a ... whatever it is that he was. Damn it! I believed him. God help me, but I believed him. 

Mulder saw the look on my face and said, "What? You just thought of something, didn't you?" 

"Let's go downstairs." 

He didn't question me, just followed me into the elevator which still hadn't left the floor. We got the basement and he unlocked the office. 

I followed him in and he turned to look at me and asked, "You just figured something out, didn't you?" 

"I might have. I don't know." 

"What?" 

I looked around. Remembered Alex's vague comment about this vampire being able to hear through walls. Could he do it too? "Let's go home, Mulder." 

He approached me and put his hands on my shoulders. 

"What is it?" 

"I don't want to talk here," I said, looking up at the smoke detector and the light fixtures on the ceiling, wondering as usual if the place was bugged or being surveilled. 

He nodded, noting the direction of my gaze. We silently packed up our things and put on our coats. He placed his hand on my lower back in his familiar gesture as he walked me back to the elevator. We descended to the garage and got into his car. 

"Let's take your car," I said. 

"You want to leave yours here?" he asked. He was surprised. I rarely wanted to do that. I didn't like being without my car. 

"Yes, you can bring me back to get it tomorrow. Let's go to my place." 

He nodded, looking more worried as the minutes passed. "Whatever you say, Scully." 

We pulled out of the garage and headed for Georgetown. I put my head back against the headrest in the car and closed my eyes. God, I hoped I wasn't right. What I was thinking was ... unthinkable. I felt a wave of certainty. I could be wrong. This was TOTAL conjecture on my part. No basis in fact. Mulder would love that! I could be wrong ... but I didn't think I was. 

**XXXXXXXXXX**  
**DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT**  
**GEORGETOWN, D.C.**

We arrived at my place, which had been swept for bugs the day before by the Lone Gunmen. We hadn't said a word on the ride home. As we entered my apartment, he asked, "Are you hungry?" 

I smiled, knowing that meant that he was. "Order a pizza, whatever you want, just get mushrooms on my half." 

He grinned and headed for the phone. I headed for the bedroom and changed out of my suit and into sweat pants and a sweater. I washed my  
make up off and brushed my hair. I felt better. 

I went back into the living room to find Mulder had removed his dress shirt and shoes. He still wore an undershirt and dress slacks, but now I could see the definition of the muscles in his chest and down his abdomen. Unable to stop myself, my eyes swept over him. I met his gaze and he was smiling. "Like what you see, Agent Scully?" 

"Indeed, I do, Agent Mulder. Every sexy inch," I teased back. 

He motioned for me to come to him and I sat down on the couch next to him. He put his arm around my shoulder and I snuggled close. 

"O.K., we're here in your apartment, comfortable for the most part and fairly certain there are no bugs in here. So what did you figure out?" 

"Nothing." 

"Nothing?" he asked, his voice rising as if to ask what all the fuss was about. 

"I had a thought. It's total ... conjecture on my part. There is absolutely NO reason for me to think this, but I have to wonder." 

"About what? You're not making sense yet, Scully," he said. 

I turned to him and our eyes met. "I think I know who Alex's master or companion or whatever he wants to call him ... I think I know who it is." 

Mulder's eyes got wide. "Who?" 

I licked my lips. "You won't believe me and I have no proof." 

"Try me." 

I swallowed, knowing this could cause a debate. 

He nudged me and repeated, "Who, Scully?" 

"Deputy Director Fair," I said quietly. 

Mulder was still for a second, then his corners of his mouth turned up and fell again. His brow scrunched and he looked at me strangely, as if trying to figure out if this was even remotely feasible. Finally he said, "That's the last person I expected you to name." 

"I know it is." 

"Why do you think that?" 

"Unsubstantiated ... hunches." 

"That's not like you, Scully," he said simply. 

"I know." 

"What pieces did you put together? What makes this fit for you?" 

I looked away and closed my eyes, not wanting to be distracted by his inquisitive face. At least he wasn't dismissing it outright. That was a good sign. Maybe he wasn't as enamored of this guy as I thought. 

"He's big, Mulder, and Alex mentioned that he grew when he was made a vampire." 

"So now you believe he's a vampire all of a sudden?" 

I sighed loudly. "I don't know, but in the absence of any other explanation, I'm going to run with it. Whether he really is some mythical creature from folklore, or whether he just 'thinks' he's a vampire, for the sake of argument, let's say he is." 

"O.K., I'm with you so far." 

"D.D. Fair never leaves the building during daylight." 

"Right." 

"He has no windows in his office and has never been seen to eat or drink anything." 

"Right." 

"He's an enormous man." 

"Yes, his height is unusual but not unheard of. There are hundreds of basketball players around the world that are just as tall. It's not like he's nine feet tall." 

"I know that, but there's more." 

"Please, clue me in." 

"This may sound dumb." 

"Hit me," he encouraged. His eyes sparkled. He loved it when I ran on supposition and conjecture. He loved it when I had a hunch. He liked to encourage that in me. Whether he agreed with me now or not, I couldn't tell. But he would hear me out. We always heard each other out. 

"This is weird, but remember when he came into Skinner's office while we were there?" 

"Yeah." 

"He's so big, Mulder and yet ... he was silent as a cat. If the door hadn't squeaked I wouldn't even have heard him enter. But I wasn't paying a lot of attention to detail at that point. Later, when he went to leave and took my hand ... I don't know." 

"What?" 

"It gave me the creeps." 

"The creeps?" he asked, clearly amused with my unscientific choice of words. 

"Yeah. You know. The old heeby jeebies." 

He laughed now. "Could it be just because he is that big and when he comes close, it's really apparent? I wouldn't blame you for being a little intimidated by his size." 

"I'm used to being short, Mulder. I'm used to having to look up to see people's faces. I do it with you all the time." 

"Not that far up." 

"Huh?" 

"You're not used to looking that far up. You don't crane your neck to look at me unless I've got you soldered to my chest." 

"Soldered?" I asked. 

He chuckled. "You know what I mean." 

"Yes, but that's not it, I swear. I did take a step back, but that wasn't intimidation. I swear. I just wanted to get a better angle to see his face, instead of his ribcage." 

Mulder laughed out loud now. "All right, so ..." 

"Well, I was hyper-aware of him and he looked at me like ... I don't know, it's the weirdest thing. It was like he knew what I was thinking." 

Mulder was silent for a moment. "Anything else?" 

"Yeah, I was paying more attention at that point, so I watched him leave. Again for a big man, he was so quiet. I couldn't even hear his feet on the carpet. Skinner is a big man and has a heavy tread; this guy's even bigger, and he didn't make a sound. It was like he ... " 

"What?" 

"Oh man. I hate feeding you this stuff." 

He grinned. "What? It was like he ... what?" 

"Like he glided," I said softly. 

"Why didn't you mention this before?" 

"I didn't think of it then. I just thought, maybe because he's so big, he's learned not to stomp around and tread lightly. Then I didn't think of it again." 

"Until we were upstairs." 

"Yeah, well I made the connection with Krycek. He startled us both. We never heard him in the hallway. The door was open, but we never heard him until he spoke." 

"That was weird, he startled me. That's why I scolded him." 

"I know. But he's silent, Fair is silent. He's bigger, Fair is just big. He says he's a vampire, Fair never eats. He says fire and sun can kill them, Fair never goes out in the daylight." 

"He said he had some sort of Lupus." 

"Yeah, I know, Discoid Lupus Erythematosus." 

"Whatever," he mumbled. 

"It would be interesting to get a hold of his medical records, don't you think?" 

"Are you thinking of investigating our Deputy Director, Scully?" 

"Not investigating, exactly, but ... digging around a little." 

"We'd have to be real careful, Scully. If we're wrong, we could blow it, big time. He's been on our side so far. I'd hate to ruin that." 

"Me too, but even you questioned him before you knew about the Lupus. We just accepted that at face value." 

"Well, we couldn't exactly ask him to provide proof on the spot." 

"No, we couldn't, but I know where he lives." 

"You do?" he asked. His tone made me turn to look at him. 

"Down boy," I said. 

He deflated. "Sorry." 

"I've never been there, but I heard those girls talking in the bathroom. One of them was his secretary." 

"Kelli." 

"Yeah, that's her name. She mentioned that he'd told her he owned a home in Falls Church and a townhouse in Georgetown." 

Mulder whistled softly. "Big bucks." 

"Yeah, townhouses aren't cheap and guess what?" 

"What?" 

"I checked out his address in Falls Church." 

"You did? Why?" 

"I've been more suspicious of him from the start than you have, Mulder." 

"I know." He paused. "And?" 

"And he doesn't own a house." 

"He doesn't?" he asked, his interest piqued. 

I grinned. "He owns a mansion, Mulder. It's huge!" 

"He lives there by himself?" 

"I don't know. I looked up the address in City Hall Records. There was a floor plan in there. There's 14 rooms, Mulder, it's a palace. Whether he lives alone or not, I don't know, but he's the only one on the deed." 

"Well, he obviously has money. And we know the Bureau, even the brass doesn't get paid THAT much. But who knows? He could come from money." 

"That's true. I didn't dig any further ... at the time." 

"But you want to now?" 

I turned to him again, "Yeah, I do." 

He nodded. "All right. I'll bite." 

"We should have some sort of cover story if he catches us snooping." 

"Let me think about it for a day or two. Don't do anything until I come up with something." 

"Or I come up with something." 

He nodded again. "Of course." 

"Maybe we can enlist the boys to help us," I said. 

"I'll call the Gunmen first thing in the morning and see what they can dig up. Maybe they can follow the money." 

The doorbell rang. 

"Pizza Man!" Mulder said and stood up off the couch, his mood changing like the wind. 

I smiled as I watched him nearly skip to the door. Food always put him in a good mood. I thought of D.D. Fair and was swept with another wave of foreboding. Christ, I thought, I hope I'm not right. Because vampire or not, if he wasn't who he said he was, then he was probably part of this new Consortium Alex was talking about. Alex was obviously a part of it. That's the only way he could know so much about it. I had a suspicion that our new D.D., who seemed to come from nowhere, had a history we weren't going to like. I decided to keep my suspicions about the Consortium to myself for the moment. Mulder was willing to check the guy out and that was good enough for now. I didn't want to nix his support by pushing my suspicions too far. One step at a time. 

I thought of Alex again and his odd statement about being scared. We couldn't rush in ... Mulder was right about that. We needed to be careful. But I wondered just how much time we had. My gut was telling me we didn't have much left. 

I sighed and got up to get drinks as Mulder paid the delivery boy and returned to the kitchen with the pizza. He put it on the kitchen table while I got paper plates and napkins. 

He rubbed his hands together in front of him after opening the box. He grinned at me as he looked up. He was so boyish and cute sometimes. I smiled at his enthusiasm and then laughed when his stomach growled loudly. 

"Let's feed that thing, shall we?" I teased. 

**PART 7 (R)**  
**KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION**  
**FALLS CHURCH, VA**  
**TWO NIGHTS LATER**

Alex came into the living and regarded me staring out the bay window of the living room. The night was clear and the stars were out. 

"What is it?" he asked, sensing something wasn't right. 

"We have visitors," I said calmly. 

He snapped his head toward the window and back to me. "Who? Is she here?" he asked, trepidation in his voice. 

"No, not yet." 

He visibly relaxed and then turned to the window. He closed his eyes and I knew he was scanning the area. He blinked suddenly as he opened his eyes and turned to me again. "What are they doing here?" 

"I don't know yet, exactly." 

"You haven't listened to them?" 

"Not yet." 

"Why not?" 

"I was waiting to see if they were going to ask to come inside." 

"They are just sitting the car across the street from the gate. Smells like a stake out to me." 

"They might have wanted to talk first." 

"Why don't you go out to greet them?" 

"And freak them out that I knew they were out there?" 

"They have to have seen all the cameras around the fence on the perimeter. Anyone who lives in a place like this has elaborate security. They won't think anything of it." 

I nodded, but didn't otherwise move. After a minute, I asked, "Were you careful when you came here last night?" 

"Yes. I always am. Now that I can move fast, I generally do it all the time to practice." 

"So they wouldn't have seen you enter here?" 

"No, I don't go through the gate anyway." 

"I know, you jump the damn fence." 

He chuckled. "Good exercise." 

"Showing off for an audience of one?" I teased. 

"Who? You?" 

"Yourself," I said dramatically. 

He shook his head in amusement. "Just enjoying being able to leap 12 feet in the air, clear the fence and land without hurting myself. It's all new to me and I'm enjoying being able to move that way. It's the only way I can find out what I can do." 

We were silent a few moments and then he asked, "Do you think they were following me?" 

"They might have after you visited them." 

"I don't think so. I think I would have sensed them." 

"Not necessarily, if you weren't on your guard." 

"With Zebrosia out there, I'm on my guard constantly if I'm away from you." 

I looked at him and motioned him to me on the couch. The lights were out in the living room and no one could see into the one way windows I had in the entire house anyway. Back lighting would cast shadows, but I rarely turned on the lights unless I had guests. Saved on the electric bill and I didn't need it. Not that I needed to save money, but it never hurt. As wealthy as I was, I didn't like to spend needlessly. This was the most ostentatious display of wealth I had allowed myself in modern times. I owned properties all over the world, but as the years went by, the dwellings got smaller and less conspicuous. The simple reason was that there were more people now. That sounds ridiculous, but it's true. 

Centuries ago, people were clustered in cities and farming towns. There were vast tracts of uninhabited land. I built castles and homes in these wildernesses back in those days, or appropriated abandoned ones. Modern times had forced me to learn to live as a modern man. It was harder and harder to hide in some ways and yet, easier because the suspicions of the old days were dwindling. People weren't generally that superstitious anymore. Back then, if you were strange, you were as likely to be branded a witch or heretic as not and ostracized by the masses. Ignorance had bred fear. 

Alex went to the window and stood behind the enormous tapestries that were pulled back even though no one could see in. He was being cautious and that was good. It wouldn't look good if they found Alex here. I had no worries about him hiding from them if they came in. The house was huge and he could disappear in the blink of an eye. 

He peered down the long driveway that led to the entrance gate. We watched in silence for a while and then he straightened up a bit. "Mulder's getting out of the car," he stated simply. 

I could see him from here. His features weren't crystal clear but sitting here on the couch facing the window, I could see to the gate. I saw his lanky form approach the gate and look up at the camera and then down to the call box. I stood and went to the front door in the foyer off the living room and pressed the intercom button. 

"Want to come in, Agent Mulder?" 

He jumped, startled at my voice coming out of the speaker. "Oh! Hi! Uh, yeah, we were wondering if we could come in and ask you a few questions. Sorry to bother you at home." 

"Why all the cloak and dagger? You've been out there for a half an hour." 

He glanced guiltily at the car and I watched Agent Scully exit the car from the vertical window next to the door. "What's going on, Mulder?" Her voice sounded through the speaker in the house as I held the receiving button down. 

"Uh, he's invited us in." 

"Let's go in then." 

"Answer the question, first, Agent Mulder." 

He said, "We didn't think anyone was home. All the lights were out. We were ... uh, waiting to see if you would arrive home from being out." 

I looked at Alex and he shrugged. "He's probably lying." 

I hit the button for the gate and it ponderously swung open. They trotted back to the car and pulled a U-turn, pulling through the gate and drove up the drive as I shut it behind them. I turned to Alex. 

"Make yourself scarce. Don't let them see you here. Not yet." 

He nodded and went by me, giving me a peck on the cheek and then ascending the stairs. I knew he would be able to hear us from wherever he hid upstairs. I flipped on the lights in the foyer and the living room. I turned and faced the fire place, starting the fire to the prepared logs in the hearth. The logs burst into flames, dissolving the wadded up paper that sat beneath them. 

They exited the car and approached the porch, climbing the three steps and crossing to the door. As he raised his hand to push the doorbell, I opened the door to greet them. 

He stepped back and smiled at me. "Good evening, Sir." 

"Good evening. Come in." 

They crossed the threshold and I closed the door behind them, waving them into the living room. They were wide eyed as they browsed the paintings and antiques. They sat on the sofa and I took up my usual spot in the wingback chair facing them. 

"Beautiful home, Sir," Agent Scully began. 

"Thank you. I take it you thought it should be lit up like the Fourth of July  
if I was home?" I asked, levity apparent in my voice. 

Scully blushed slightly and said, "Uh, not exactly, but we didn't see any lights other than the few spot lights on your fence." 

I nodded toward the fire with my head. "I was enjoying the fireplace." 

"That is nice," she said. 

Mulder was silent through all this and striking a deceptively negligent pose. He kept glancing at the fire as though it shouldn't be there. I probed him gently and smiled as I realized he was thinking about Alex's statement that fire and sun destroyed vampires. To his thinking, if I was a vampire, I would probably be afraid of, or at least avoid, fire. 

I shouldn't have been surprised that they made the connection between Alex and I. But I was surprised they'd figured it out so fast. I was even more surprised after a gentle probe to find out it was Scully and not Mulder that had put the pieces together. 

"Can I get you something to drink?" I asked. 

"No, we're fine," they said together and I smiled widely, amused that they had spoken together. They flashed each other a silly grin and then turned their focus back to me. 

"So what did you want to ask me?" 

Mulder cleared his throat. "Well, I guess we're just curious about some things." 

"Such as?" 

"Do you live alone?" 

"Most of time." 

"Most of the time?" Scully asked, as if this were an odd answer. 

"I have friends come and stay from time to time." 

"Family?" Mulder asked. 

I frowned, faking sadness. "No. I have no family, Agent Mulder. I was an only child and my parents passed away ... a long, long time ago." 

"I'm sorry, Sir," he said. 

"That's quite all right." 

"Being a Deputy Director must pay well," he said, clearly thinking there was no way I could have all this on my salary and wondering if rather than being a vampire, I was into something illegal. 

I laughed good naturedly and said, "Not this well. I come from a long line of old, family money, from my great-great-grandfather on down. At the end of the line, I was the only surviving heir and so inherited a fortune, one from each parent. They were both from wealthy families." 

Scully pursed her lips. "May I ask where you come from, Sir?" 

"My father was Italian and my mother was Egyptian," I lied. Both of my parents were Egyptian and so long dead, they weren't even mummies anymore. "I grew up in Italy, but we later emigrated to the United Kingdom." 

"You don't have an accent," she stated. 

"No, I've worked hard at not having one." 

"But there is a dialect," Mulder said. 

I tilted my head toward him. "I'm afraid that when you travel the world, you tend to pick up phrases that stick with you." 

"Archaic ones?" he asked. 

I raised my eyebrows, remembering Alex telling me the same thing. I would have to watch that. I came upon an answer almost immediately. "I guess you could think that. You see, I know several languages ... Arabic, Italian, Spanish, French and English. I know a bit of German as well. Some things ... many things in fact, don't always translate directly from one language to another and so ... you come up with these substitute ways to express yourself." 

"Are you fluent?" Mulder asked. 

"Yes, in all but German." 

"Wow, that's quite an accomplishment. Must have taken you years." 

I regarded him sternly now and he squirmed a little in his seat, readjusting his pant leg to cover. I was making him nervous. "My whole life, Agent Mulder. Traveling helps." 

"I'm sure." 

"Was there a point to this inquiry, or is this just a friendly visit?" I asked, feigning irritation. 

Scully cleared her throat. "Sir, we don't want to upset you." I looked at her without responding. She licked her lips. "I guess you were just a mystery to us." 

"And?" 

"Forgive us, but we've ... had some bad experiences with superiors in the Bureau. I don't know if you're aware of ... certain elements of a shadow government." 

"Shadow government?" 

Mulder sat up straighter and leaned forward some. "I want to tell you a story." 

I waved my hand in the air. "By all means, I can't wait," I said facetiously. If I took their inquiries without a bit of question or irritation, that wouldn't look normal either. 

"Bear with me, Sir. First, another question." 

"Oh, goody," I sighed. 

Scully's eyes darted around the room, taking in the expensive furnishings. 

Mulder pinned me with his gaze. His next question was a test. "Do you believe in extra-terrestrials, Sir?" 

Scully glared at him, clearly upset that he would ask me that question. It embarrassed her sometimes, his total lack of guile when it came to all things paranormal. The question, on the surface, did sound a bit trite, but he was serious. And I knew the question was anything but trite to him. 

I let the silence float for a moment and then said quietly, "Yes, I do." 

He looked surprised but pleased. Scully frowned. 

"Sir, over the years, we've come into information that led us to believe and later know that there was a group of shadow government figures called the Consortium." 

"Made up of who?" I asked. 

"Some were scientists, some were FBI, CIA, MI5 from England, spies from Russia. It was a global concern." 

I blew air out of my pursed lips. "Really?" 

He licked his lips and I wondered how they would taste. "Yes, and they had contact with an alien race that has plans to colonize the planet." 

Now my eyebrows shot up as I knew that if I didn't feign some sort of disbelief, I wouldn't be credible. "That's quite a supposition, Agent Mulder." 

Scully cut in. "Mulder, why are we telling him this? No one has ever believed us before. There's no reason to believe D.D. Fair will either. You're just making us look ... like ..." 

"Crack pots?" he filled in, looking only slightly wounded at her reprimand. 

I decided to cut in. "No, it's all right, Agent Scully. I'd like to hear what you have to say." 

Mulder swallowed again and cleared his throat. "Well, these men found out that the aliens planned to infect the human population with a virus. This way they could eliminate the human race and take over the planet." 

I nodded gravely, as though considering what he said but highly skeptical. "Go on." 

"So they hired scientists and experts from around the world and tried to develop an antigen to the virus." 

"Did they succeed?" I asked the obvious question. 

"To a degree." 

"We don't know that, Mulder." 

"That antiviral saved your life, Scully! How can you say that?" 

She frowned again. She knew all this to be true, but found the blatant telling of it to a virtual stranger disconcerting. In the open, she could hear how ludicrous it sounded and it embarrassed her, even though she knew it shouldn't. 

"When you were taken to the Antarctic?" I asked. 

She startled and looked at me. "How do you know about that?" 

"It was one of the first stories I was told about you two when I came here and was told I would be in charge of the X-Files over Assistant Director Skinner. Quite a tale." 

"Who told you the story?" 

"Jenna Cassidy, a couple of secretaries gossiping like they do. I heard your monikers. It intrigued me." 

"What monikers?" 

Boldly, I said, "Mr. and Mrs. Spooky." They both cringed. "I didn't give  
it any credence." 

"Why not?" she asked. "Everyone else does." 

"I'm a world traveler, Agent Scully. If I've learned nothing else, it's that you can't judge a book by its cover. And unlike most, I do believe in the paranormal." I gave her a significant look and she was the first to avert her gaze. "I've learned to judge people on their own merits and make my own judgments. I listen to what others have to say but I draw my conclusions. I don't let other people draw them for me." This last was said with a bit of pretended insult. 

"I didn't mean to say that you listen to gossip, Sir! I'm just saying that most people believe what they hear if they hear it enough." 

I waited a beat or two as if considering and then stated, "Well, I'm not most people." 

Mulder jumped back in. "No, you're not. I sensed that right away about you. And make no mistake, Sir. We've really appreciated your support, more than we can say." 

"I appreciate your solve rate," I stated as any superior would. "As far as believing in aliens, it's not something I advertise. I think it's incredibly arrogant of us to think we are the only intelligent life in the universe, don't you?" 

He smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. "We're used to being ... ridiculed," he said by way of defense of their reactions. "We're different and we know it. It's hard to describe what it's like. I mean, we try to maintain our dignity and in a way, our solve rate does that for us in spite of everything else, but still ... it's hard to take, being different, going against the grain. And whenever we got close to any members of this Consortium, we found big trouble. Accidents would start to happen to those around us. Evidence would be destroyed or mysteriously disappear. They didn't want us to find out what they knew." 

"About aliens," I stated. 

Scully hung her head, no longer willing to participate in this inquiry or storytelling, but not willing to abandon her pride either. She was sitting there resolving to bite her tongue and just back Mulder up if there was trouble. 

"Yes, that and other things. They controlled some of the brass in the Bureau, senators and congressman." 

"Lots of power players, eh?" 

"You have no idea. And when we tried to expose them ... we were nearly killed many times. We've lost a lot to trying to fight them and expose their lies and their conspiracies. Most people don't believe there is a conspiracy." 

"Isn't working for a vaccine, if there is indeed a virus, a good thing? A noble cause?" 

"It would be, except they didn't plan to give it to the world. They planned to save themselves." 

"Ah, now I'm getting it." 

"Look, I've been different all my life. And since finding the XFiles, I've been everything from teased to ridiculed to downright shunned. I'm used to it. I accept it as part and parcel of doing this job and I accept the consequences. I chose it, but I hate when it reflects on Scully. Unfortunately, guilt by association is hard to get past." 

She looked up now, touched by his concern. "Mulder, I stay because I believe in what we do. I don't blame you for other people's ignorance." 

"It doesn't make it any easier to be so ... different minded than others." 

With a touch of irony, I said, "Oh, I know NOTHING about being different." 

"Sir?" Scully inquired, her one word encouraging me to elaborate. 

I smiled sadly at her. "I'm wealthy, Agent, Scully. And I'm a big man. I know this. I'm a damn giant. It doesn't escape most people's notice and it rarely goes without comment . I get stared at wherever I go. I feel like a damn zoo exhibit sometimes. Agent Mulder scored points with me immediately on a personal level because he failed to comment on it when we first met." 

"Oh," she said softly and looked at her lap again. 

Mulder's eyes darted back and forth between me and Scully. He was relaxed now. He knew I didn't buy his whole story. Actually, I did, but I wasn't letting on. That would be too obvious. He was encouraged that I wasn't dismissing them outright. 

"I didn't mean to insult you, Sir," she said quietly, feeling a touch of sympathy for me. 

"You didn't. I'm merely pointing out that I know what it's like to be different. And I have no choices where my differences are concerned. They just are." 

She looked at me and gave me a sympathetic smile. She was warming to me and wondering how in the hell she could have ever thought I was a vampire. I grinned internally at that thought. The face I showed her was still and reserved. She still knew all the pieces didn't add up. I might have to reveal myself to them before this whole affair was over. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that tonight. 

Mulder said, "Well, you have a taste of what's it's like to be stared at and whispered about behind your back. But that's not the point of the story. I don't even know how we got off on this tangent." 

"I don't either," I replied. 

"Sir, my point is that we came into some information that there is a new Consortium." 

"So there are now two groups?" I asked innocently. 

"No, our ... informant said that all the members of the Consortium are dead, and that a new one has formed." 

"They all died?" I asked. 

"Died or were killed in freak accidents. Some were old. One man was killed in a car explosion because they found out he was trying to help me. He was an Englishman, and gave me the vial of antidote that saved Scully. Others disappeared without a trace. Some were found murdered." 

"Sounds like a lovely group," I said sarcastically. 

**PART 8 (PG-13)**  
**KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION**  
**FALLS CHURCH, VA**

"We're worried about this new group. Our informant says they are not like the last one, that they want to save us from colonization rather than work with the aliens to save their own butts. We don't know what to believe." 

"Are you asking for my help in investigating this group?" 

"Not yet. We don't even know who they are." He looked at me with a penetrating gaze, as did Scully. "Maybe you can put out some feelers?" 

I concentrated on making my face motionless and without expression. They were looking for a spark of recognition in my eyes. I gave them nothing but a blank stare. "Are you going to try and find out?" I asked finally when neither of them spoke. 

"We'll always be trying to find out. We don't know what we're dealing with unless we do." 

"I see." I paused. "Why did you come here tonight? This couldn't have waited until we were in the office?" They both avoided my gaze. "What is this really about?" 

"I guess we're just suspicious of anybody new," Mulder said finally. We hated the old Consortium, make no mistake, and no one's going to mourn its passing. The thing is ... the devil you know." 

"Ah, so you don't like knowing there is another group and not knowing who they are or what their agenda may be." 

"Exactly. I guess I wanted to ask you to let me know if you ever heard anything of this nature. By the way, Spender was in that Consortium." 

"He was CIA." 

Mulder and Scully both stared at me. "You're kidding." 

"No, I'm not. He was a bastard, though." 

"How so? You knew him, obviously." 

"Unfortunately. He was a strange character. I only met him a few times and he seemed to hint that the CIA had the power to tell the Bureau what to do and that we should cooperate. That was what he came to ask me about when I met with him." 

"That was the day we met." 

"Yes, he was there before you. He didn't come right out and say it, but he made a veiled threat that I was to cooperate with his 'company' ... or else." 

"What did you tell him?" Mulder asked. 

"I told him I took orders from one man only, Director Mullen. And if he had an issue with that, he could talk to Mullen." 

"Ooo, I bet that went over well," Mulder said sarcastically. 

"He wasn't pleased. He may have had his protections and allies. But I have mine too. I know who I can trust most of the time. I'm a fairly good judge of character. And his stunk to high heaven. His character, that is." 

"Were you surprised when he showed up dead?" 

"I wasn't expecting it if that's what you mean, but yes, I was surprised. He seemed so sure of himself. I figured he must know something I didn't. Or more likely, know someONE I didn't." 

Mulder then said, "Sir, there's one more thing." 

"What's that?" 

"We can't find any trace of your existence anywhere outside of your current residences." 

"Many of my investments are made through accountants and brokers." 

"I understand that, Sir. But ... we can't find evidence of your residence in England." 

"I was there, I assure you." 

"I believe you," Mulder said. "I also think you're not completely truthful about who you are either." 

I stood abruptly. "What are you implying, Agent Mulder?" 

He didn't pull back from my stare. He looked right back at me. "One last question." 

"Make it quick, because I'm about to terminate this interview. My personal life is none of your business, Agent Mulder. What would make you think that it is?" 

He swallowed harshly. He was still holding my stare. "You're right, it's none of my business, your personal life, that is. But your professional life is and should be public record. Only we can't find a record of you." 

"That doesn't mean there isn't one." 

"I suppose but ..." 

"What's the last question, Agent Mulder? And make it snappy!" 

There was a beat of silence and Scully stood, ready for fight or flight. 

Mulder stared at me for a few moments and then asked, "Are you a member of this new Consortium, Sir?" 

I let the silence hang in the air. _Should I tell them, Pet?_

*I wouldn't, unless you're prepared to give lots of details about your plans and how and why,* he answered quickly. I knew he'd been listening to the entire exchange. 

Scully asked, "Well?" 

"I'm trying to decide whether to be flattered that you think I'm so powerful or insulted that you think I'd be involved in a government conspiracy to hide aliens and harm you," I stalled. 

Mulder seemed deflated at my calm answer. Scully went on alert. As paranoid as he was, Mulder would let his guard down at the oddest times. He was truly lucky to have Scully to watch his back. 

"I had to ask, Sir," he replied placidly. 

Scully looked at him incredulously. "He hasn't answered the question, Mulder! That was a very nicely executed evasive answer, but it wasn't an answer." 

Mulder looked up now, glancing at her and her defensive stance and then back to me, sitting casually in the chair. He had taken my answer as a negative, but seeing Scully's stance, he was instantly leery again. He didn't know if he agreed with her, but he trusted her instincts and he was reacting to them. It was an interesting exchange of communication between them without a word spoken. Body language was telling him all he needed to know. I was glad to see that screwing her hadn't softened that non-verbal communication between them. 

He stood up and backed up slightly to stand at her side. "She's right. It wasn't an answer and I have to have one. I have to know if you're friend or foe. I could dig further into your background. But I'd rather face you like a man and ask for what I need to know." 

He was implying that if I didn't answer him, I was a coward. 

Alex spoke to me silently. _You want to tell them, don't you?_ He didn't sound disappointed. Just a bit weary. 

I sighed. _I'm afraid I do. They could be invaluable to us, Alex._

_Should I come down to help?_

_I think so. Give me another minute._

"I want to say something to you first. Then I'm going to tell you everything you want to know." 

*Alex, there's coffee in the kitchen made by the maid earlier. Go get them cups of coffee. Hers with milk, his with milk and two sugars.* 

I waited for him to balk at this menial task, but he didn't. A moment later I glanced at the staircase as he flew by at warp speed, invisible to them and entered the kitchen. He'd never made a sound. I was very proud of my protg and partner. I'd never seen anyone master skills as quickly as he had. 

"We're waiting," Scully coaxed impatiently. 

"You two have got to be the most impressive pair of agents I have ever seen," I said quietly. 

No evidence that my comment affected them showed except a slight widening of Mulder's eyes and slight squinting of Scully's eyes. He was more prone to flattery. She became skeptical of ulterior motives. It was odd. 

"You are so different, and yet you work together like well balanced scales. My compliment flattered Agent Mulder and made you suspicious," I said to Scully. "My previous answer made Agent Mulder feel guilty for asking and made you think I was a consummate politician," I continued. 

"What's your point?" she asked. 

_Come in now, Alex._

From behind them, he entered the room, not making a sound, a mug of coffee in each hand. 

"His point is that you are a paradox." 

They both spun around to face Alex. Scully spun so fast, her hand shot out to the arm of the sofa to steady herself. Mulder blurted out, "I told you to make some freakin' noise, Krycek! Jesus, are you trying to give us both heart attacks?" 

Alex and I both laughed and neither of them were amused. He silently held up the coffee cups. "Sit down and be comfortable. We're in for a long talk." 

They took the cups and sat. Mulder sniffed it but then raised it to his lips. Scully's arm shot out to grasp his forearm. She was peering suspiciously into her cup. My God, I thought, does this woman ever let her guard down? In one way, I admired her caution. On the other hand, it was a tense way to live. 

"There's nothing in the coffee, Scully," Alex responded. "Just milk in yours, milk and two sugars in Mulder's. Just the way you like them." 

"How do you know how I like my coffee?" she asked. 

He smiled. "I know a lot of things about you, Scully. About Mulder too. I dare say I know more about you than you do." 

She bristled and I admonished Alex. *Don't piss her off, Alex. We want their cooperation. And she will be the difficult one to convince. Don't insult her unnecessarily.* 

_I'm sick of her suspicion. She's always hated me._

_Maybe because you taunt her constantly._

_I do not!_

_Enough! Not now._

He receded from my mind, obeying the command, even though I wasn't supposed to be giving him orders anymore. I knew there would always be an element of that in our relationship. He was my partner and I would keep no secrets from him. But if it came down to the wire, he would obey me in my anger. That was good to know. 

Mulder looked at him. "What the hell are you doing here?" 

Alex didn't answer, looking to me and raising his eyebrows, asking how to answer this one. 

Scully said, "Krycek's presence immediately makes me even more suspicious of you. He was in the old Consortium. He's openly admitted to being in the new one. So that pretty much answers my questions right there." She turned to Mulder. "We're wasting our time here, Mulder. We haven't lost any enemies. We've just gained some new ones. Let's get out of here before this gets ugly." 

She saluted me with her coffee cup, nearly slammed it down on the coffee table and stood with military precision, turned on her heel and took two steps. _Stop her, Pet, GENTLY!_

Alex was in front of her in an instant, his hands on her shoulders. He nearly winced as he gathered his composure to speak civilly to her. 

He spoke softly with effort, "Dana ... please don't leave. Neither of us wants to hurt you." 

"But you will if you have to, is that it?" she countered. 

His lip curled up. His hands slid down gently over her shoulders and lightly grasped her biceps. "No. I wouldn't hurt you ... for any reason," he said, his teeth clenching at his admission. 

She observed him with an odd look, recognizing something in him for the first time. 

There was something going on here between the two of them. And unspoken tension that had probably never been acknowledged. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Oh my Lord, he wants her. He has always wanted her. And he has always been jealous of Mulder's connection to her. She, on the other hand, had no designs on Alex. But deep down, there was an attraction to the danger he represented. She thought he was handsome, but it was purely a physical thing with her. She could ignore that. Physical beauty was not what was important to Dana Scully. 

Unfortunately, Mulder saw it too. He stood. "Get your hands off her, Krycek. I don't care who or WHAT you are. Touch her again and we'll never have another civil conversation." 

He dropped his arms instantly, looking hurt. He turned his back on them and walked to the window, staring out into the driveway. I turned to look at him. They couldn't see his face from here, hidden in the shadows of the tapestries that hung at the sides of the bay window. But I could. He was blinking rapidly, breathing slow and deep to regain his composure. He was stung and it seemed that it hurt him more every time one of them rebuffed him. I realized he had long held a desire to be in their inner circle. I could feel the disappointment and resignation in him, that he would never have their trust. 

He also knew that he had given them no reason to trust him. And so didn't really deserve their trust. But he wanted it. His mind was spinning back over all his dealings with them and realizing that he had always been mysterious and much too ambiguous to gain the trust of either one of them. They respected honesty and forthrightness, even if it wasn't what they wanted to hear. They didn't like ambiguity and they didn't like hints or cryptic messages or half explanations. He was standing there wondering why this simple truth had never dawned on him before. There was silence in the living room as we all stared at his back. I could see his eyes in three quarter view. 

I spoke to him, *Alex, come back and sit in the chair. I'll let you tell them. You be my voice tonight.* 

He spun at looked at me, surprised by this request, but pleased. He was worried at the same time. He did not have a tight rein on his composure. He approached slowly and I said, *Maybe composure isn't all it's cracked up to be.* 

He sat in the overstuffed chair next to my wingback and across the from the sofa. I had a vague sense of a stand off. Mulder, always the perceptive one when it came to body language asked, "You both do that, why is that?" 

"Excuse me?" I asked. 

"You tilt your head to the side, as though you're ... thinking ... or listening for something." 

I raised my eyebrows at Alex. Better watch that; I didn't realize I made any outward sign that I was speaking telepathically. 

_Gareth?_

_Your call. You can tell them if you want._

_You want them to know ..._

_Just tell them I'm telepathic._

Alex smiled and straightened his head. "Here's your first shocker, Agents." 

"Do tell," Mulder said sarcastically. 

"Your esteemed superior, Kendall Fair, is telepathic ... oh yeah, and so am I," he added flippantly. 

Scully's jaw dropped. Mulder just blinked rapidly in surprise. "You can talk to one another ... " 

"Inside our heads, yes, without speaking a word, yes," Alex replied. 

"Pleeassee! This just keeps getting more fantastic, Krycek!" Scully exclaimed. 

"I didn't ask you to believe it, Scully," he said. "In fact, I suspect you won't believe half of what I tell you. You'll believe all the bad parts, of course, because that's what you do when it comes to me. You'd hate to have to admit that you'd been wrong about me." 

"I'm not wrong about you, Krycek. You're a manipulator of the highest degree. You're a double talker and you help whoever can get you what you want at the moment." 

He hung his head. "That's not true." He lifted his head to look at her. Quietly, but with intensity, he said, "I've risked my LIFE to save you both ... more than once. Quite a few times, as a matter of fact. I've put my own ruin on the bargaining table to make sure you two could go on with your work. I've ALWAYS believed in you and what you do." 

Mulder said, "Could have fooled us." 

He turned to Mulder. "I know I haven't been totally honest with you. I don't blame you for your suspicions. But doesn't anyone in your world deserve a second chance? If I was ever less than honest, it was because I didn't want to die. I would have been no good to you dead." 

"You killed my FATHER, YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" Mulder suddenly screamed. 

Alex physically rocked back in his chair. "I'm sorry, Mulder." 

"You're sorry! You're fucking sorry, all right." 

Alex's mouth crumpled into an expression of distress. He said, "I was ordered to do it, Mulder." 

"Ordered ..." 

Alex held up a hand to stall him. "I tried to refuse. I told Strughold and Windemere he could help us, tried to make them find a use for him so they would keep him alive long enough for me to warn him. That's how they worked. If someone was useful, they would keep them around. When they no longer provided a service or use for them, they were eliminated to protect the secrecy of the program if they gave any hint of talking. The powers that be, mainly Strughold and Spender refused to see it my way. They said kill him or be killed. His life or yours! And if they'd killed me, they would have sent someone else to do it anyway. What the fuck was I supposed to do?!" he shouted at the end. 

Mulder had no answer and neither did Scully. 

Alex said, "Was I supposed to give my life for your father's, Mulder? Sacrifice myself for the noble cause of letting him live a few more years? Because that's all he would have had. A few more years. And then they would have found another reason to kill him anyway. He'd grown weary and he wanted to tell you everything. They couldn't allow it. You were too close already." 

Mulder said, "So he was killed for growing a conscience." 

Alex nodded. "Basically, yes. If he'd sworn to keep the program a secret, they would have left him alone. But he was vocal about being fed up and feeling guilty about what he'd done and what he'd done to his family. He wanted to make amends. He wanted to tell you. If he'd kept his mouth shut and just told you, it would have happened differently. But he wasn't smart enough not to mouth off beforehand. They knew what he was going to do and he died for it." 

"By your hand," Mulder reiterated. 

"Yes. By my hand. And I'm truly sorry, Mulder. I wish it could have been different. I really do." 

"You were a fucking puppet, Alex," Mulder said. 

He closed his eyes and opened them again. "You're right, I was." 

"And I'm supposed to believe you're not now?" 

"I'm asking you to believe that, yes. I've changed, Mulder. I've always believed in you, but I've changed my mind about the ends justifying the means. I'm older now, I'm not as impulsive and I'm not as quick to panic as I was back then. Everything is different, Mulder. The old Consortium is gone." 

"All dead?" Scully asked, even though she knew the answer. 

"Yes, all dead." 

"And the new Consortium?" Mulder asked. "Who's in that?" 

_Tell them of the other members, love._

"Do you remember Windemere?" 

"Yes," Mulder answered. Scully scrunched her brow, not recognizing the name. Mulder continued, "He's the one that gave me the vaccine for Scully and her location." 

"He died for that," Alex stated bluntly. 

"I know. His car blew up right after I got out. I'm lucky the explosion didn't kill me too." 

"Well, his grandson, Philip Windemere, is a British politician and an accountant, and will handle all of our finances." 

"Windemere?" Scully asked. 

"That was the well manicured man's real name, Oswald Windemere." 

She nodded. "We all had handles back then, or nick names. Increased the chances of our true identities NOT coming out." 

"Who else?" Mulder asked, as Scully produced a small pad from the inside pocket of her suit jacket and was writing the name down. 

"Clyde Vogel," he said simply. 

"The senator from Maryland?" Scully exclaimed. 

"Yes, he's well connected on the Hill. Even has access to the President." 

"That's scary," she mumbled. 

"In the scientific corner, we have Dr. Brian Sullivan." 

"I've heard of him," Scully said. 

"He's a brilliant research scientist, and was here under diplomatic immunity after being tossed out of France. We have given him enough to hold his loyalty, changed his identity and sent him back to France to work in a facility we have set up there." 

"What is he working on?" 

Alex smiled without humor, "A better version of the weak vaccine that saved your life, Agent Scully. If he finds it, we will try to mass produce it." 

"With whose money?" she asked the obvious question. 

"Mine," I said. 

She turned to look at me, her expression surprised. "It would take billions of dollars to produce enough vaccine to immunize the majority of the world's population." 

"I know," I said simply. 

She and Mulder stared and he asked, "Just how wealthy are you?" 

"I can safely say I'm probably the richest man in the world, Agent Mulder." 

"How can that be that we've never heard of you before, then?" 

I regarded them with amusement. "Because unlike most rich folks, I don't care to advertise my wealth. Every nut with a cause comes out of the woodwork asking for a hand out. My wealth is spread all over the world and I take great pains to conceal my identity, so the paper trails are very hard to trace back to me directly." 

"You have companies and tax shelters, in other words," she concluded. 

"Among other things, yes." 

"So you've retained your wealth by NOT being altruistic?" Scully asked, clearly trying to find fault with me somehow. 

"On the contrary, I give thousands of dollars every year to various organizations that work on cancer and disease research. But I do it anonymously through various corporations, rather than in my name. And I am a silent partner in most of my corporations." 

She was finally impressed, and the fact that my money was going into scientific research to cure disease pleased her. She just couldn't make up her mind whether I was a good man or not. 

Mulder broke in again. "Then there's you, Alex. You admitted to being the muscle of the group." 

"The muscle but also the ... arbiter between the other members. I'll settle any disputes on procedure or contacting others to obtain information. Basically, I'm a liaison between them and the head of the group. But let me get this straight right now. We are not like the old Consortium. We have no nefarious purpose. Our main goal is to develop a vaccine and begin inoculating people quietly through doctors around the world." 

"How do you plan to do that?" Scully asked. 

"We're going to pretend to discover a virus of some kind that we can advertise as virulent and use this to convince the medical community that we must inoculate everyone like we do for measles and various other nearly extinct diseases. It will become part of the childhood inoculation process. That is our hope, anyway. Our secondary purpose is to stop anyone, including aliens, that tries to get in the way of achieving that goal." 

"So you're willing to kill," Scully added. 

He looked at her. "Only as a last resort. We would try other things first." 

"Like what?" 

"Bribery, trying to turn them to our cause." 

"But you won't tell the public of this threat?" she asked. 

"We can't, Scully. Surely you can imagine the mass panic this would cause? Come on. Some wouldn't believe us and could cause a stink and create all kinds of delays for us. The ones that did believe would panic and alert the aliens to what we are trying to do behind their backs. We can't risk that kind of exposure. If this is to succeed, we have to do it under wraps and as quietly and quickly as possible." 

She didn't respond but I could tell his words had sunk in. She did realize that telling the general public would be a bad idea. It stuck in her craw, though, that there would be more lies and subterfuge. 

"It's the only way," I added. "Believe me, I've looked at this from every angle and I can't figure out another way to do this without exposing everyone involved to danger and delays. Secrecy is our best weapon, for now anyway." 

She perked up at that statement and looked right at me. "Alex said the exact same thing about being a ..." 

"Vampire," Alex supplied. "Come on, you can say it, I know you can," he mocked, imitating Mr. Rogers. 

*Lose the tone, Alex. This is exactly what I'm talking about. It's insulting ... and beneath you.* 

She frowned. Her bottom jaw stuck out in irritation and she pulled it back, clenching her teeth. I continued to stare at her which unnerved her a bit. 

Finally, Mulder got back to it and asked the one unanswered question. "They're using your money, so you're the bankroll." He turned to Alex. "So who is this leader you are a liaison for?" 

There was silence again and Alex hesitated. Finally I said, "One guess, Agents." 

**PART 9 (R)**  
**KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION**  
**FALLS CHURCH, VA**

They looked at me, showing no outward reaction. Scully did swallow heavily. I could smell a faint whiff of fear from her. Mulder didn't seem as shaken. He said, "I knew it. Sitting here, you obviously knew everything Alex did. I knew you had to be involved, but I didn't really suspect that you were the ..." 

"Head of it?" I asked. 

"Yeah," he said lamely. 

"My money, my calls," I said simply. When they said nothing, I said, "I really am trying to do something noble here, Agents. I hope you can come to believe that after you've had time to think about it. I'm trusting both of you with this information. Do you understand what that means?" 

Scully looked up. "That if we spill the beans, we're dead meat?" she asked plainly. 

Mulder winced. 

I looked at her, schooling my expression to a blank mask. "I have a soft spot for you two, or you wouldn't be here right now. You don't know it, but I've watched you for years, followed your work. I admire both of you, and I'm an even bigger fan of the way you work together. I would like for you to help us when and if you can. That's all I ask. And of course, I ask that you keep it to yourselves. I'm banking on the fact that you will appreciate our honesty in this situation and respect it." 

Mulder blew air out of pursed lips. "Whew, this is a lot to take in, even though I suspected it all. Having it confirmed makes it very ..." 

"Real?" Alex supplied. 

He didn't respond. Scully asked, "You've put us in a bad position." 

"How so?" I asked. 

"If we talk, we die. If you ask us to do something that's against our beliefs and we don't do it, we die. We have no idea what you will ask of us." 

"I will take great pains to see that you are never asked to do anything you wouldn't probably do on your own anyway. I don't wish to make you liars or hypocrites." 

"You're asking us to cooperate with the very conspiracy that we were trying all these years to expose." 

"No, Scully," Mulder interjected. "This new group isn't out to get us. At least, I don't believe that they are. If they were, we'd be dead already. If they were the same, we would still be looking for answers about their agenda, instead of being handed them on a silver platter." 

I nodded in agreement. "We would love to have you actively work with us, but we know that's too much to ask, and I won't ask more of you than you are willing to give as long as you keep our confidence. You are free to refuse any request without consequences as long as you don't expose us." 

Scully sighed. "I guess we don't have much choice in the matter. That's what bothers me the most." 

Alex said, "You always have choices, Scully. Sometimes they are hard ones, with lots of consequences. But we always have choices. I've made some really bad ones in the past. But I'd like to believe my work here will make up for some of them." 

"Did you kill my sister?" she asked quietly. 

I looked to Alex, actually not knowing the answer to this question. He said firmly, "No." 

He didn't elaborate and I knew that he had been involved somehow. As if echoing my thoughts, she said, "You were involved though, weren't you?" 

"I knew about it," he said. "I didn't pull the trigger. I think they were after you and got her by mistake. I know it was a mistake." 

I could read him easily now as he sat there using all his willpower not to show his roiling emotions. He had been there. I saw the picture of a man pulling the trigger and him rushing forward to turn the woman over and his eyes going wide as he relived the discovery that his partner had killed the wrong woman. 

He hadn't wanted to kill Dana either, any more than he had wanted to kill Mulder's father. He didn't think he could do it and had said so. That's why the other man had been sent with him. Ever since, he had regretted that night. Had it been him alone, he wouldn't have made the same mistake. 

He would have made sure it was her, and then ... he wasn't sure, but he'd had a vague plan to warn her to run, to get out of town for a while and report back that he couldn't find her. He'd wanted to ditch his partner from the moment they'd sent him along, knowing he might not be able to do this hit as easily as he had done others. He'd been enamored of her even then. But alas, he hadn't been alone and his incompetent partner had nearly created a disaster. I read this all easily from his mind as he relived it. 

"A mistake?" Scully said. 

"I'm sorry for that too, Scully. But I didn't pull the trigger." 

She nodded, accepting that this was all the detail he was willing to give and not sure she wanted the details anyway. What did it matter now? Melissa was never coming back. 

"Wait a minute!" Mulder said suddenly. 

We all turned to him, awaiting the next question from his agile brain. He looked at Alex and then at me and back to Alex. "You say you're a vampire. You say you have a master or a maker, or whatever you call it. Who is he? Is he involved here to? Wouldn't he resent D.D. Fair having all your attention?" Mulder was suspicious of my identity, no doubt about it. Scully had planted the seed and he was now putting the pieces together. However, he still had no proof. 

"He doesn't own me," Alex said. 

"Come on, Alex. He must be a large part of your life." 

"He is," he said calmly. "My relationship with him and my activities in the new Consortium are separate, compartmentalized duties, so to speak." 

_This could get messy,_ Alex projected to me. 

_You're doing fine. Use my real name._

"Where is he now?" Mulder asked. 

"I don't know. Probably out looking for Zebrosia." 

"What did you say his name was?" Scully asked, looking pointedly at me. 

I simply returned her gaze without flinching. Alex answered, "Gareth." 

Mulder asked me, "You believe in his vampirism?" 

"Yes, I've seen it with my own eyes." I looked at Scully. "And I believe what my eyes tell me." 

She scowled at me, glaring, but not responding. 

"It doesn't bother you?" Mulder asked. 

"No, not as long as he's on my side," I joked. 

Mulder flashed a quick smile at my humor but lost it just as quickly. 

"What's his last name?" Scully asked Alex. 

"Who?" 

"This Gareth." 

"I don't know." 

"You don't know?" she asked, clearly not believing him. 

"No, he's never told me. He uses several aliases in the mortal world." _Was that all right to say?_ he asked. 

_Too late now,_ I said. 

As I feared, she seized on it. "Like what?" 

I reminded Alex. _Viking._

"He uses the name Viking quite a bit." 

Mulder's eidetic memory served him once more. "That's the name of the owner of the property in Connecticut, Scully. The name of the guy that let us rent that house." 

"I remember," she said. 

"It fits," Mulder said. "We never met him personally. It was all done through his real estate agent." 

Scully nodded, this puzzle piece falling into place for her. She wasn't totally convinced, but she believed Alex in this for some reason  
she couldn't fathom. She just sensed he was telling the truth, about this nugget of information anyway. Then she remembered that the best con artists mix the lies with the truth to confuse the matter. Just enough truth to make them seem credible. 

Good lord, this woman was tough. I wondered if she would ever let go of her suspicions where Alex was concerned. I was afraid they would always be there to some degree. I felt sad for Alex. It would take a major event to get her to change her mind about him. 

Little did I know that event was about to happen in a very short time. 

"Something isn't right about all this," Scully said quietly. 

Mulder looked at her. "There's a lot to consider, Scully. I think we need to ponder everything we've learned before we make any decisions about our next move ... or what we're willing to give." 

"You'll give everything, Mulder," she said without a trace of doubt. "You always do." 

"Only if I believe in it, Scully." 

"And you do. I know you do. Already ... I can read it in your face, Mulder. You believe everything that's been said here tonight." 

"You don't?" 

"I don't know what to think yet. I need some time to assimilate this. You're right about that." 

"We better get going." 

They stood and Alex walked them to the door. I stayed seated. "What's bothering you, Scully?" Mulder asked. "Other than the obvious." 

She shook her head. "Later. Let me think on it for a while. It will come to me." 

I knew what it was. She was still connecting me with Gareth. Even though Alex had provided her with my other names, she had been sure I was Alex's master. And she was right. The funny thing was that it had been pure gut instinct that had led her to that suspicion. Yet instinct was the thing she simply couldn't believe in one hundred percent. So there was this constant conflict in her between her instincts and her intellect. The logic told her that we were two separate people. There were explanations for my strange habits and behaviors as D.D. Fair. Instinct told her something she'd heard hadn't been the full truth. It would nag at her. 

Mulder, in contrast, had no such conflict on most issues. His intellect was superb, his genius I.Q. working flawlessly with his eidetic memory. And he used these gifts to further his heart, his passion. He knew he was intelligent, but he didn't discount or distrust his gut instincts. He held them in as much regard as he appreciated his intellect. For him there was no such internal conflict. It was why he was able to make the leaps of intuition that he did, the ones that amazed those around him. 

The only conflict Mulder came up against concerned Scully. Her inability to merge her mind and her heart, or her gut instincts, was a source of frustration for him. He loved her deeply and well, but this one flaw of hers was something that frightened him. He was afraid someday that her unwillingness to open her mind would get her hurt, or worse ... killed, simply because she refused to believe what her own eyes were telling her, let alone what her gut told her. 

I didn't know what it would take to change that for her, or if it ever would change for her. 

"I'll be in touch," Alex said. 

Mulder nodded in acknowledgement. 

Alex reached for the door to open it for them when all hell broke loose. 

My mind was otherwise occupied with questions about my agents' characters, so I was not paying as much attention as I should have. The crashing of the bay window that sprayed glass in every direction as she came crashing through it had me out of my chair and facing her wrath before her feet landed on the carpet. 

Mulder and Scully, along with Alex, had turned, startled by the crash. I braced for her attack, but it didn't come. She folded her arms under her breasts and adopted a deceptively relaxed pose. I knew better than to trust that. I felt her try to probe my mind and I threw up a wall of iron around my psyche. She actually flinched when her awareness hit that wall and bounced back to her. 

She smiled, a smile so evil and wicked it sent chills down my spine. Despite the centuries, she was as beautiful as ever, more so, if that were even possible. Her skin was milky white and flawless. Her long, lustrous, brown hair fell down her back in waves, highlighted by bits of safety glass that clung to her waves. 

"What the fuck?" Mulder whispered. I glanced briefly at them, seeing both Mulder and Scully had their weapons in their hands. Those Sigs were nice weapons, but useless against her. 

_Flank her,_ I said to Alex and then quickly threw up my shields again. He moved so fast he disappeared. Mulder and Scully gasped as he came to a halt in front of the broken bay window, materializing before their eyes as he stilled. 

Zebrosia didn't even turn around. She was arrogant and clearly didn't think he was a threat. I said to Mulder and Scully. "Agents, get out of here." 

"What did she throw through that window to break it?" Scully asked. 

Alex answered. "Her body. Now get the fuck out of here." 

Comprehension dawned on them as they realized who this woman was. I'm surprised the medieval outfit didn't tip them off. She was wearing a blood red gown that hung to below her knees. The bodice was tight, laced up and showcasing her breasts and her slender waist. She looked like something out of King Arthur's court. 

She pivoted on her heel to look at Alex, staying between us. We now formed a triangle; she in front of the fireplace, which she glanced at briefly to judge the flames, me in front of the sofa and Alex in front of the bay widow. 

"So we meet again," I said, finally. "I've been waiting. You always did like to make a dramatic entrance." 

She laughed and turned to Alex. I saw him tense, in full defense mode. I'd told him to be defensive unless I told him the time was right to be aggressive. Her eyes swept over him from head to toe. 

"Oh, he is a pretty one, isn't he?" She licked her lips. "I sensed your appreciation of his beauty. You're really in love with this one, aren't you?" 

"Can we talk about this?" 

She laughed again, a grating sound that bounced off the walls. I saw Mulder and Scully wince at the volume of the sound as they stood poised in the archway, aiming their weapons. She was totally unconcerned, which told me just how powerful she was. 

"You knew the rules, you broke them," she said simply. "You were a good boy for a long while." 

"Exactly, for a long time. Too long. I wanted to ask permission, but you made yourself scarce. You hid yourself from me on purpose. How can I ask you for something if you won't show yourself or make yourself available for the asking?" 

She smiled another amused, evil smile, not showing any teeth. "That's called a clue, Gareth mine." 

Mulder and Scully both drew in harsh intakes of breath. All the puzzle pieces were on the table now, weren't they? Agent Scully's last question had been answered. She was still confused, as I'd shown no sign of my condition as Alex had. I almost laughed. She thought of it as a 'condition'. 

"This has gone on too long, Zebrosia. Aren't you tired of it? Was I supposed to be alone forever? If you'd come to me to resolve this, I may have stayed with you. We could have been happy again." 

"You killed Amet," she said. 

"You killed Vanessa," I countered. "Eye for an eye." 

"I loved him." 

"You were selfish. You wanted us both. Why couldn't I have anyone? You know I wouldn't have been careless. You knew me better than that!" 

"I was never more alone than after you killed Amet. I couldn't stand the sight of you!" she hissed. "I loved him. You killed that for me. I've never been able to love since. You doomed me to eternity without love!" 

"I've been alone for 300 years, Zebrosia! That's a long time to hold a grudge! I didn't doom you to an eternity without love. You CHOSE not give it or receive it anymore. Big difference." 

Mulder and Scully couldn't fathom this conversation. They were stunned into immobility. They didn't dare move and draw attention to themselves. Glances between them communicated that they had resolved to watch and wait this one out, interfering only to defend themselves. 

**"HOW DID YOU DARE TO KILL AMET? I AM YOUR QUEEN!"**

Calmly, I said, "You WERE my queen, my everything ... right up until you rejected me and then killed my fledgling. Then you were just vindictive and selfish." I shouted at her. "Who denied who, Zebrosia? You're  
a hypocrite." 

"I ALONE control the numbers," she threw at me. 

"This isn't about numbers and you know it!" I countered. 

"No, it's not. You took the love of my life away from me out of simple jealousy and spite, you petty little bastard! And now I'm going to take away the love of your life. You killed Amet. I'll NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THAT!" she spat. 

"Only after you denied me my fledgling. You loved him best. No, I didn't like it. Yes, I was jealous. But I accepted it. I never thought to harm him. I thought to make a companion of my own." 

"And leave me," she added with venom. 

"Yes! Was that so horrible? You didn't want me. I was just a substitute when Amet couldn't keep up with your desires. I was worth more. I AM worth more than that. Why should I have played second fiddle to anyone? Would you have? Clearly, NO! You wouldn't even let me have that little comfort of a fledgling to call my own. I was supposed to wait around at your beck and call like a prostitute! I couldn't do it!" 

"I taught you everything you know and you defied me!" 

"Only because you rejected me!" I said through clenched teeth. "I loved you as much as you loved Amet. Didn't you know that? You taught me, you nurtured me and I became attached. And then I fell in love with you. Then when you were through with me, you discarded me like old trash. You broke my heart too. And what? I wasn't supposed to be bitter? I wasn't supposed to be hurt? I wasn't supposed to want something better for myself?" My voice was thundering as I let my rage burn through me at the remembered anguish of her rejection. She'd bluntly told me Amet was her favorite and she'd call me when she needed me. Basically saying, `go out and play now and come when I call.' 

"We end this tonight," she declared. 

"I thought you would be unreasonable." 

"What would be reasonable?" 

"You let me have Alex and I promise never to make another as long as he lives." 

She laughed again, a bitter sound. "No, if I let him live, then ..." 

"You'd ruin your reputation for never showing mercy," I said. 

She hissed, her fangs extending. I saw Mulder and Scully flinch where they stood. I resolved not to take my eyes off her. She could strike at any moment. 

"You insolent bastard!" she cried. "My mercy was not killing YOU that day!" 

"Mercy would have spared my fledgling AND your lover. But you couldn't stand it that I might make it on my own, could you? You're a control freak, blown up with your own power. And how much comfort has that been the last 300 years? I don't need you. I NEVER needed you. I've done very well on my own, as you can see." 

"You'd be dead if I hadn't taken you under my wing. Oh yes, you've done well, living among these pathetic mortals! Betraying who you are." 

"No, Zebrosia. You never understood. It's not an US against THEM situation. It's survival and trying not to go mad from loneliness and isolation. I held out as long as I could. You look like a joke from the middle ages with your archaic costume. Where the hell have you been hiding?" 

"You lie. You didn't wait all this time. You made one a century ago. Did you think I didn't know?" 

"She killed herself in the sun." 

"I know, she died before I could get there, the pathetic little creature." 

"I chose badly." 

"Yes, you did," she said haughtily. 

"I chose wisely this time. I don't make the same mistake twice." 

"Are you telling me this is a mistake?" 

"Yes, I am." 

"You know nothing!" 

"No, Zebrosia. You're hugging despair because of your isolation. Before your rampage up the US coast, when was the last time you went out? When was the last time you fed? Or have you just held court in some remote location plotting your revenge against me and every other blood drinker that you perceive has done you wrong? You don't want me, but you don't want anyone else to have me either. That's the height of arrogance! The height of selfishness! You CHOOSE to be miserable and isolate yourself from humans. I choose another way." 

She was silent for a moment and then hissed, "And you will die for it." 

She struck with the speed of lightning and the fury of a viper. She rose into the air and sped towards me. I ducked and she flew over my head. The cathedral 20 foot ceilings left plenty of room for her aerial display. She rose to the ceiling and dove towards Alex. He moved but not quick enough. She landed on his chest and knocked him to his back on the floor. 

Her strength was enormous as she held him pinned to the carpet. He struggled and hissed, his fangs emerging. She threw her head back and laughed as she prepared to kill him the way I had killed Amet. 

That one moment of gloating was all he needed. Alex heaved with all his strength and rolled, taking her with him. Her eyes flashed with fury and surprise at his strength. I was there in an instant, pulling her arms away from his throat where they had gone the moment he landed on his back. 

Alex now straddled her hips. Between us, we pulled her hands away from his throat. She was so strong. In this position, she didn't have the leverage, though, and it was enough of an advantage for us to overcome her, for the moment anyway. 

"You'll die!" she hissed, with the fervor of one that has lost her mind. I tried to pin her arms by her head. She thrashed mightily. 

Alex ripped her bodice open with one grab and her full, D cup breasts stood up perfect as silicone fakes, the nipples erect and dark pink with blood. 

He opened his mouth and she screamed. The noise was blood curdling and the next thing I knew, Alex was flying through the air backwards as she threw him into the air and wrenched from my grasp, gaining her feet once more. 

Alex executed a perfect back flip in mid air and kicked off the wall, landing on his feet in the middle of the room. I had a brief thought to wonder what Mulder and Scully thought of all this but I didn't dare take my eyes off her. She was clearly impressed with Alex's skill, but not intimidated by it. "He is strong, Gareth." 

"Yes, and I am stronger. You can't beat both of us." 

"The hell I can't." She spun toward me and ignited my clothing. I went up like a torch. 

I screamed as I felt my skin begin to burn. I heard the sound of running feet as I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it at her as she rushed me. Her arms raised to grab at me, my pants still flaming when the slab of glass from the coffee table landed on her back, smashing the back of her head and driving her to her knees on the floor. I skipped backwards, screaming again as the flames burned my legs. I patted frantically at them when I was suddenly hit from behind by a gigantic hail of water. I turned my head to find Scully wielding a spaghetti kettle. Mulder emerged with a mop bucket full of water and Scully ran to get more for her kettle. 

I couldn't spare them any more attention. Zebrosia had been stunned as Alex wielded the coffee table with his mind. She recovered quickly and spun back to Alex as she gained her feet, lifting about two feet off the floor. She flew at him and he picked the table up again, batting at her with the steel metal frame. She lurched sideways and cart wheeled over the rear of the sofa. 

She released a battle cry that would have curdled my blood had I been mortal and flew back at Alex, easily clearing the sofa. I dove at her from the side, intercepting her flight. I bear hugged her around the middle and lifted into the air myself. She struggled for a hold on my neck and snapped her head forward. 

I felt her fang pierce my skin and I jerked my head away, throwing her away from me with all my strength. She flew through the air, crashing into the wall and sinking quickly to the floor, but never losing her feet. Oddly, she hadn't paid any attention to Mulder and Scully. That was about to change. 

She glared at Alex and his clothes went up in flames. He instinctively ran toward the archway and Mulder was waiting, dousing him with a bucketful of water. 

Alex muttered, "Thanks," and spun to meet her again. 

She charged me instead and Alex moved into the room again, trying to grab her arms. At the last second she veered from me and leaped into the air, sailing towards Mulder. She was now pissed off that they were interfering with her revenge. They had not been important enough to warrant her attention before now. I heard the crack of the gun as an echo as Scully fired from the hallway. 

Zebrosia screeched an ear splitting wail and sank to the floor but landed on her feet. Her bodice was hanging around her waist. She was naked from the waist up. Blood poured down her side where the bullet had entered and exited. It slowed her down but I could already see the wounds healing and closing over. 

She was truly amazing. So strong. Too bad she's crazy, was my next thought. She ran towards Scully, easily batting Mulder out of the way and sending him onto his ass in the foyer. He leaped to his feet again, but she was on Scully by then. She surprised me when she didn't try to bite her. 

Instead she easily lifted the small agent into the air and flung her into the living room with such force that she flew backwards through the air, her arms and legs forced out parallel with the floor by the force of the throw. She was headed for the stone chimney flu above the fire place. 

I knew in that instant that she would probably die from the incredible impact with the stone. I started for her anyway. 

Mulder cried out a heart rending scream, "NNNNNNOOOOOO!" 

Alex was in the air in a heart beat, leaping higher than he had ever leaped. I could see him but I knew Mulder couldn't. He had moved too fast. I saw it as if it happened in slow motion. 

He'd taken two steps, and leaped into the air like a basketball player going for a lay up. His arm extended. He reached her height just in time, wrapping his arms around her waist and twisting to put his back to the wall. They both crashed into the stone chimney, vibrating the walls with the force of the impact. 

Alex's body cushioned her, taking the full brunt of the impact. He was stunned and cried out as he became visible to Mulder with his sudden stop. 

I moved quickly, already in motion as they plummeted to the floor. I arrived in time to wrap my arms around them and steady them before they crumpled to the floor. 

**PART 10 (PG-13)**  
**KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION**  
**FALLS CHURCH, VA.**

Scully was wide eyed and stunned, turning to look over her shoulder at Alex. His head was split open in the back and blood was running through his hair and coating his neck. His expression was near lifeless, his eyes blank and his jaw slack. I knew he would survive, but he'd been hurt badly by the impact. 

She turned in his arms, snapping out of her stupor and raising her hands to his head to check the cut. He stood placidly. 

I felt my rage rise up in me at seeing him hurt and I roared, turning from them to face her as Mulder shouted, "Ahhhh, nooo! Please!" 

I raced toward them as she descended. Her fangs were sunk into his neck and his body jerked. I grabbed her hair and yanked with all my strength, hearing some rip from her scalp. 

I heard Alex say to Scully, "I'll heal. Go to him." 

Zebrosia's arm swung back to swat at me and I grabbed her at the wrist,  
jamming my knee into her elbow and bending it backwards, snapping the bone. That did it. 

She screamed, jerking her fangs from Mulder's neck. He grabbed his neck and rolled away from her, his back now to the front door in the foyer as he sat propped, staring at his bloody hands. Blood ran down his neck from the wounds. Scully dodged by me, having left Alex when she saw Mulder was in need. 

My rage added strength to my already considerable power. Her arm was already healing but for now, it hung uselessly at her side as she staggered to her feet. 

We both rose into the air, hovering at about two feet, knowing we moved more agilely in the air. I opened my mind and threw all my hatred at her for the hurt she had caused me. I slammed into her mind, none too gently. 

She screeched and flew into the living room again, trying to throw up her defenses. But I was already inside. She'd not been expecting it and had dropped her defenses. Careless of her, and a sign of her arrogance. 

I followed her and we collided again, thrashing in the air, trying to get at each other throats as we tumbled across the room. I was surprised to find we were nearly matched. Of course, her arm wasn't healed yet. Alex staggered away from the fire place, his hands on the back of the couch, supporting himself as he watched our own private little air show. 

My bare chest heaved with the effort of these sustained, quick, darting movements. Scully was holding a dishcloth to Mulder's neck to stop the bleeding. She must have gotten it from the kitchen. 

I spun rapidly in the air, my leg coming up like a tree trunk and hitting her in the jaw. I heard bone snap and she screamed again, hissing and diving after me as I flew backwards and towards the ceiling to put some space between us and give myself room to maneuver. 

I felt the sting of blackened flesh where I had burned. We didn't sweat, but I felt the sensation of being extremely hot on the inside, which told me I was reaching the limits of my endurance. 

I darted to the side as she flew at me and she had to bring herself up short or crash into the wall. It was enough time for me to zip across to the opposite side of the room, hoping to gather what strength I had left. 

She glared at me, hissed and launched herself at me again in a move any flying squirrel would be proud of. I held my arms wide, bracing for the impact, knowing she would plow us into the wall above the broken bay window. 

To my surprise, Alex somehow found the strength and leaped into the air again as she passed overhead. He couldn't fly yet, but I'd never seen anyone jump as high as he could. His timing was impeccable and I'd swear he'd been waiting for just the right moment to intervene. He used the same move he'd performed with Scully, wrapping his arms around  
her waist and leaning back. His pull slowed her down enough that she didn't crash into me, but it didn't stop her flight and I merely grunted when she plowed into my chest. 

Alex's weight dragged her down and we descended almost comically slowly to the floor. Our feet touched down. She struggled and Alex fisted her hair in his grasp, yanking her head back. We both had her squished between us. 

_Nice move, Alex. It's time to kill her,_ I told him. 

_Me?_ he asked astonished. 

_Both of us. Go to the right on three._

She hissed and squirmed and I felt her try to ignite us but concentrated and felt my body turn ice cold. She gasped, and I could tell she didn't know this was possible. 

Her momentary hesitation was her downfall and I counted, *One, Two ... **THREE!***

Alex and I descended at the same time, me sinking my fangs into her jugular from the right, and he taking her left side from the rear. She screamed like a wounded bat, high pitched wailing screams as he jerked and struggled to escape from our grasp, but she couldn't overwhelm us both. Had I been alone, there would have been no doubt of the outcome. And I know she could have killed Alex if she'd let go of her arrogance for two seconds. But I was strong and Alex now was nearly as strong as I was and the two of us ... she was no match for the two of us now that we had her immobilized. 

I pulled heavily and felt the ebb and flow as Alex pulled from the other side. Her blood was incredibly sweet and thick, not gelatin, but only one step from that. 

I swallowed, drinking like a pig. I felt her incredibly strong blood flow into my veins and it began to seep into my skin and muscle. I imagined I could almost feel myself hardening. She was like holding marble. 

Alex moaned as the ecstasy hit him from glutting on such strong blood. It was the strongest we would ever have, I was sure. There was not another like her in the world. As strong as she was, her arrogance and rage had brought her down. A good lesson to be learned. 

All her knowledge of the others flowed into my mind in a series of pictures. Now I would have to figure out where those pictures were from. She was woefully ignorant of modern times. She must have been away from civilization for a long time. I almost felt sorry for her. 

We all three sank to our knees, her legs trailing between Alex's big thighs as they straddled her ass. As always happened when I fed, I was hard and throbbing between my legs. I knew Alex was too when I heard him grunt and thrust into her ass, driving her hard stomach against my cock. 

I grunted in response and we continued to feed. Soon, there was nothing left but a drop here and there. She was a hard, dry husk. I released my fangs from her throat and he followed my lead. 

He looked at me over her shoulder. His eyes were bright and feverish, his lips ruby red. He licked the last from his teeth, his fangs still extended as mine were. 

"We're not done." 

"We're not?" he inquired softly as he glanced at her motionless body. 

I smiled. _Which breast would you like?_

He groaned, knowing what I was suggesting. Amazingly, she was still alive, the ancient blood in her skin keeping her body clinging to life. She  
was helpless now, though, and stared vacantly at me. 

I laid her gently onto her back on the floor. We knelt beside her and lowered to her bare breasts. They looked like the mounds of Venus. I nodded. 

Alex didn't hesitate and neither did I. We sank our fangs into her breasts and pulled hard, heaving our chests with the effort to pull the blood from her muscle and skin. The first squirt that hit my tongue made me dizzy. It was so thick and fragrant that my head spun in ecstasy. Alex groaned again, unable to keep his pleasure hidden. 

Her body jerked. It was hard work, but we finally extracted every drop of blood from her now lifeless body. Just before she succumbed, her body jerked once more and her feeble mind touched mine. She said, _You are now the King._

I shuddered, realizing what she was telling me. She knew all of us and she was saying I was the oldest living and strongest blood drinker in the world. I felt another wave of dizziness and my body jerked as I felt warmth flow into me like a wave. It was what was left of her spirit, and I greedily inhaled the scent of her new blood in my veins. 

Finally we raised our heads. We turned to see Mulder cradling Scully in his lap, her face buried in his neck to hide her eyes. They sat propped against the base of the staircase. He glanced at us but then averted his own eyes. They hadn't been able to watch. 

I stood and lifted Zebrosia's now lifeless body into my arms. She was light as a feather. I felt renewed and so incredibly strong. I stepped out of the broken window and easily sank the couple of feet to the ground. I laid her down several feet from the house and ignited her body, watching it flash burn into immediate intense heat that incinerated her to ashes in but a few moments. 

_Hand me that coffee cup, Alex._

He went to the couch and retrieved the now spilled coffee cup that had met its demise in the tussle. One edge was chipped. It was cracked and the handle broken off. 

I knelt down and carefully scooped up her ashes into the cup. I returned into the living room, hopping easily up and through the window. I surveyed the living room. What a mess. 

I said to Alex, "Let me mix this with water. We drink and we're done." 

"Water?" he said, as if the idea repulsed him. 

"Yes, just enough to make it liquid and easy to swallow." 

He looked skeptical but nodded. 

"Take care of them." I indicated Mulder and Scully as I went into the kitchen. I turned on the tap and let it run until it was warm, then I let the water flow over the cup or so of ashes I'd collected. 

I'd remembered drinking my master's ashes and the strength that had given me. I didn't know if it would make a difference here but I wasn't willing to leave anything undone. 

I sighed with relief that it was finally over. 

I returned to the living room to find Mulder and Scully on the couch, she still in his lap. They were both looking at us fearfully. 

Mulder's neck was still seeping blood. *Put saliva on his neck, Alex.* 

Alex stepped forward and Mulder flinched. They were going into shock. 

Alex spoke softly as if to a child. "I won't hurt you. I promise. I'm just going to stop the bleeding, all right?" 

Mulder didn't answer but he didn't protest either. Rather than bring his mouth near Mulder's neck, which he knew would frighten him after this experience, he spit onto his hand. Crude but effective. 

He lifted his fingers slowly, letting Mulder track his movements with his eyes. He shrugged and cringed slightly as Alex's fingers smeared his thick saliva on his neck wounds. 

Then he shivered again as the weeping holes closed up. Alex glanced down and saw that Scully's forearm was cut. He lifted it gently as she sat there like a rag doll. His forefinger came down and wiped up the streak of blood that had dried on her arm. He wiped it on his tongue and shivered, then moaned softly at the taste of her innocent blood. 

His eyes widened and he said, _She's pregnant, Gareth._ Then he spit on his fingers again, gently wiping it over her soft skin on the underside of her forearm. She flinched but let him do it. She stared in awe as the angry red line disappeared and her skin reconnected as if by magic. There was now no trace of her cut. 

He stared at her and then at Mulder again. "Well, I guess you got more than you bargained for tonight," he said in the understatement of the century. 

I laughed mirthlessly. "Jesus, Alex. This isn't how I planned this, that's for sure." 

"I know," he answered as he stood. By silent agreement, we weren't going to hide our thoughts from them by speaking telepathically unless it was something that would send them further into shock. I didn't really see how that was possible. Good thing they both had strong hearts or they may have perished by now from heart attacks. 

I drank my half of the cup and held it out to him. He eyed it and said, "No, you drink it all." 

I grasped his wrist and raised it up. I pressed the cup into his hand. "No, equals, remember?" 

His eyes moistened and he swallowed. Then he took the cup and raised it to his luscious lips, throwing his head back as he swallowed it all in one gulp. He shook his head at the nasty taste and then set the mug on the mantel. 

I walked over and closed the thick tapestries in front of the window to block some of the night wind that was now turning cold. It didn't affect me or Alex, but I could see Mulder and Scully shivering. I then picked up another log from the stack next to the hearth and tossed it on the fire. I ignited it and threw another on, igniting that too and causing the fire place to throw off a wave of heat toward the couch. 

Scully sighed. "It will be warm again in a minute," I said. 

There was no point in turning on the heat, which would escape through the broken window. I would have to have that fixed tomorrow. I turned to my two favorite agents and said, "You've been through a big shock. I have extra rooms. Why don't you stay here tonight?" 

Scully shook her head but Mulder looked at her and said, "Do either of us really want to drive right now?" 

She looked like she was about to cry but said, "I can't stay here." 

He nodded his understanding. I squatted down in front of them. They both stared at me, not daring to take their eyes off me. "I was going to tell you. I knew Agent Scully had her suspicions, but I wanted to gain more of your trust first. This isn't how I wanted you to find out." 

"You don't say," Mulder muttered sarcastically. 

I licked my lips and looked up at them again. "Look, you've seen the best and worst we can be tonight. I make no excuses to you. I did what I had to do. This is a confrontation that's been in the making for a long time." 

"Obviously," Scully muttered. 

"I had no choice. I wasn't going to die just so I wouldn't be revealed to you. But now you have me in a delicate situation." 

"How's that?" Mulder asked. 

"You could easily expose me." 

He barked out a chuff of laughter that held no humor. "Who the hell would believe us?" 

"Even rumors that I am anything other than above board could force me out of the Bureau. And if people poke too hard, I would simply disappear again, like I have so many times in my life time. 

"I'd rather stay here and do what good I can do." 

"And kill people along the way?" Scully asked, no malice or righteousness in her voice now. 

"I don't kill good people, Agent Scully, only evil ones. And I don't have to kill to survive. That's a myth." 

She stared at me. "How do you survive, then?" 

"I can take what I call the 'little drink.' I hypnotize the person, take a few mouthfuls and heal them up. I release them and they have no memory of it ever taking place. It doesn't harm them. They regenerate what I take over night." 

"Doesn't it turn them into ... into ..." 

She was clearly worried about Mulder having been bitten. Every bad, cheesy vampire movie was now flashing through her head. 

I shook my head, "No, being bitten doesn't turn you. Alex can attest to that. It's another myth. It's a fairly long and arduous process. It takes nearly two weeks." 

She sighed in relief. Mulder didn't respond yet, but I could see his body relax further into the cushion of the sofa. 

"Look, you're exhausted. I can only remain up for a few more hours. I must be locked in my room by day break. Stay here. I promise we won't hurt you. It may sound stupid, but you're safer here than you could be anywhere else." 

Mulder looked at Scully, clearing wanting to take me up on the offer despite his misgivings and mixed emotions. Scully was weary and finally nodded, not sure she could stay awake for the trip home to Georgetown. She thought briefly of a few hotels on the way home and wondered whether she could make it there or not. 

Then she looked at Mulder, saw the weariness in his face. She slumped and nodded her acquiescence. She slid off his lap and they tried to stand. Both staggered and grabbed the sofa for balance. 

Alex stepped over and easily scooped Scully into his arms. 

Mulder finally animated and said, "Let her go!" 

Alex looked at him saddened and said, "I won't hurt her. I'll just carry her upstairs. You're both about to collapse from shock." 

Mulder shook his head but didn't have the strength to resist as Alex walked away. I followed his lead and bent down, easily lifting Mulder into my arms. He gave a token squirm of discomfort but I said, "I'll bring you to her. You must rest. Then you must take care of her. She's with child." 

He tensed and struggled slightly but then relaxed, realizing he was too confused to fight with me. I followed Alex up the stairs and into the best of the guest rooms. It had a queen sized bed with fluffy bedding, antique dressers and a bathroom off the sleeping room. Alex pulled down the covers and set Scully gently on the bed. He took her shoes off and she didn't protest. She looked like a little doll sitting there. I sat Mulder next to her and did the same. 

_Do we undress them?_ he asked. 

*I don't think that's a good idea right now. We're lucky they let us touch them.* 

He nodded and said, "Good night. We'll talk tomorrow evening." 

In a spurt of affection he leaned forward and kissed Scully's forehead. Mulder lifted his arm to swat him away, but he was gone too fast and his arm just fell to his side. Alex then surprised me when he leaned into Mulder and did the same, placing his lips on his forehead and giving him a soft kiss. 

"Sleep well," he said. 

We turned and left the room, closing the door gently and made our way to the master suite, closing ourselves behind the iron door of our windowless room. 

I thought of what we had done tonight and I felt sad. I sat on the bed and removed the rest of my clothes. I glanced down at my chest and was shocked to realize that it was completely healed already. A smudge of ash was the only indication that I'd been burnt. Good lord, that was fast. 

I stood and turned, finding Alex naked now. I said, "I need a shower first, I'm covered in ash and ... debris." 

He smiled and said, "Can I join you? I still have blood in my hair." 

"Of course. Is it still weeping?" 

"No, it's healed closed." 

We entered the large bath off the master bedroom and I filled the Jacuzzi tub with water, dumping in some bath salts. We lowered ourselves into the rose scented water and sighed, taking the sponges on the deck of the Jacuzzi and sponging off all the grime. 

I slid off the bench seat I was perched on and went under, wetting my hair which was already beginning to grow back and now down to my shoulder blades. I emerged and wiped the water from my face. Alex did the same and came back up. The room was turning steamy from the hot water. 

I felt warm anyway from the incredible blood in my veins. We sat opposite one another and rested. I said, "She spoke to me, Alex." 

He lifted his head from its relaxed pose and stared at me, waiting. Then he said, "What did she say?" 

"Just before she died, she said, 'You are now the King.'" 

His eyes widened but he waited for an explanation. When none came, he asked, "What does that mean to you?" 

"She knew every blood drinker in existence, Alex." 

"And she was bequeathing her throne to you?" he asked facetiously. 

I shook my head. "Not by appointment, Alex. She was telling me something very important." 

"What's that?" 

I turned to hold his gaze. "I'm the oldest living blood drinker in the world ... and the strongest." 

He sucked in his breath, not quite gasping. "That would mean ..." 

"You are probably a close second, despite your young age. Because of the fact that you have drunk from me and from the well, so to speak." 

"My God," he muttered. "What does this mean?" 

"It means that I have a responsibility." 

"Which is?" 

"I need to seek out the other blood drinkers. I need to know where they are, who they are, and how strong they are." 

"You're going to impose rules on them?" 

"I don't know. Zebrosia's numbers rule wasn't a bad one, Alex. She just misused it when it suited her purpose. We can't have the planet overrun with blood drinkers. We could kill off the human population that we need to survive if that were to happen." 

"Not if they all took little drinks," he reasoned. 

"But they wouldn't, Alex. That's the point. And I can't be there to instruct every one of them. There is no way to really control what they do except to ask that they conform to the rules." 

"But you know how bad it was to be subjected to solitude." 

"I wouldn't do that to anyone. What I'm thinking is that we need to find them. Any that are alone, perhaps we can hook them up with others that are alone." 

"That's a good idea. How are you going to find them?" 

"I'm not sure yet, but I think I can already sense them. Can you?" 

He closed his eyes for a few moments and said, "I think so. I'm not sure. Is it like a slight tug on your consciousness?" 

"Yes. It's a matter of zeroing in on those points to locate them. We are much stronger now, or will be after her blood has a day to steep into us. She showed me where some of them were." 

"I feel stronger already. I almost orgasmed when I first sucked it out of her breast," he admitted. 

"Me too." 

We smiled at each other. He said, "God, I'm getting horny just thinking about it." 

"That will have to wait, I'm afraid." 

He frowned, looking utterly disappointed. 

I laughed. "We're exhausted, Alex, and we may have some repercussions." 

"Like what?" he asked, looking worried all of a sudden. 

"Don't fret. But we may have some pain taking on this blood. It is thick and slow to steep into our cells. I just don't know. I don't want to worry you. I just want to warn you so you are prepared and don't panic if pain does come." 

He nodded, looking much more somber now. "I'll be ready. It was worth it before." 

I smiled gently at him, holding up my arms. He came into them and I hugged him tight. "It may not happen, Alex. I've never had blood this strong either. I just wanted to mention that it's a possibility. Now let's dry off and snuggle up. We may sleep longer than usual this day." 

**PART 11 (NC-17)**  
**KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION**  
**FALLS CHURCH, VA.**

I lay spooned behind her in the big queen size bed. We were so close we could have been in a twin size bed and had room to spare. 

My shock was wearing off. As open minded to extreme possibilities as I claimed to be, I'd been thrown for a loop by what I'd seen tonight. I'd been shocked, incredulous, amazed ... and yes, so frightened I thought I was going to shit my pants. 

When those fangs had sunk into my neck, I'd said the first really fervent, heart felt prayer of my life. I'd shouted in my mind, 'God, if you're not there, I AM FUCKED!' 

I'm sure Scully wouldn't have approved of my choice of vocabulary, but I didn't really have time to come up with an eloquent speech at the time. I was still reeling from seeing Scully fly through the air like a rag doll and seeing Alex materialize behind her and save her life by taking the impact upon himself as they crashed into the chimney. 

There was no doubt in my mind that she would be dead had she hit that wall on her own without Alex's body to cushion the blow. I had mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, the thought of his hands anywhere on her precious body made my rage boil to the surface and all my protective instincts come to the fore. 

On the other hand, if he hadn't intervened, she would be dead. Therefore, I owed him for her life and there was really no way I could ever repay him for that. It seemed whatever Alex's agenda was, it did not include harm to Scully. And he'd been hurt by saving her. I knew that also. The force with which they hit that stone was tremendous. That had to leave a mark. His seeming desire to protect Scully gave me some measure of relief. I really didn't care if I died, except for the fact that I know it would cause Scully to grieve and I didn't want to cause her any more pain than I already had in our years together. But now, Gareth said she was pregnant. There was even more at stake. I hadn't even had the presence of mind to ask how he knew. But I believed him without a doubt. 

Seeing D.D. Fair ... excuse me, Gareth ... fly through the air and commit acrobatic feats of daring was another thing it would take me a while to comprehend. He'd definitely saved my life by breaking that vampire's arm and turning her attention to himself. Another few seconds and she would have weakened me. Fortunately, she'd only gotten maybe one mouthful of blood when she was ripped from my body. I'd felt the mighty throb of my heart as she had pulled my blood from my body. I'd felt my heart crash against my ribcage twice and then she was gone. 

The instant erection and near orgasmic pleasure I'd received from her attempt to kill me was a bit confusing. I mean, after all, she WAS trying to kill me, and here I was sporting wood like a teenager. I don't think anyone noticed, not even Scully when she came to my aid. I felt a modicum of relief realizing that she had left Alex's injuries to tend to mine. 

If I was having a hard time taking all this in, I couldn't even imagine what was going on in Scully's mind at the moment. 

I nuzzled her hair and kissed the back of her neck softly. She sighed and snuggled closer to me, her luscious bottom landing in the cradle of my pelvis. The room was silent and dark when she spoke into the stillness. "What now, Mulder?" she whispered. 

"I don't know, Scully. I can't figure this out tonight." 

"Me neither. I don't know what happened down there." 

I sighed, tamping down my frustration, trying to respect her feelings and not be angry at her ever present denial. "They killed her." 

"There's no evidence of that." 

"Nope. Not even ashes. I don't know if you noticed, but they drank those too." 

She cringed and muttered, "Yuck." 

"Yeah, well, I have a feeling we'll be told what happens now." 

She wiggled loose from my grip and turned onto her back, peering at me. 

I raised up on my elbow so I could see her face better. I touched her cheek with my free hand, cupping it gently. Waves of affection and love swept through me and I realized just how close I'd come to losing her. "I was so scared, Scully." 

I felt my face crumple into an expression of agony, trying to suppress the sob that wanted to emerge. 

Her hands came up to cup my face and her thumbs traced my eyebrows and then my nose, swept over my cheeks and finally rubbed my lips. I kissed her fingers and she pulled me down to her. I kissed her tenderly, softly. 

She released me, our lips slow to pull away from one another. She said, "I almost lost you. God, Mulder, when I saw that ... creature ... on top of you ..." 

Her voice trailed away and she swallowed. "I was still dizzy from the fall and I ... couldn't get to you right away and ... Krycek was hurt too and ..." 

I put my fingers over her lips. "Shhh, I know. It's all right. The important thing is that we both survived." 

"I know. It's made me realize just how precious you are to me, Mulder." 

"I love you, Scully. I can't even really tell you how much. I've never been a Krycek fan, you know that. But he saved your life down there." My breath hitched in my throat. "I'm grateful for that. At the same time ... I don't know how I feel about him now." 

"I know what you mean. I would have been dead, Mulder ... had I hit that wall. I know my head would have cracked open like a pumpkin." 

I cringed. "Jesus, don't say that." The imagery alone was enough to make me nauseous. 

"Well, I'm grateful too. And just as grateful to D.D. Fair. He saved you from that vile creature." 

I noticed she kept calling her a creature, rather than a vampire. Yet she called Krycek and Fair by their names. "Yes, I suppose we owe them both." 

"I didn't want to stay here, but I was too tired to leave." 

"I know. I'm waking up now though. We could go if you want. I can drive. You can sleep in the car." 

"No, they saved our lives, Mulder. I doubt they will harm us now. Now that I've had a few minutes to think about it, I'm not frightened anymore ... not about being here, anyway. I am frightened of what is to come." 

"I think we'll have to play it by ear, Scully. I have something else to tell you. We owe Krycek more than just your life." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Gareth said you are pregnant." 

"What?!" she cried. 

"Well, actually the quaint phrase he used was 'with child'." 

She breathed deeply a couple of times. "I'll make an appointment for testing tomorrow ... to be sure." She was still slow to believe. She would need confirmation. 

I lowered my face and kissed her again. This kiss was laced with more passion than the comfort kiss from before. Her tongue twined with mine and I moaned softly, deepening the kiss. 

She pulled back a little and I let my body fall on top of hers, pinning her leg and side to the bed. My hands came up to capture her wrists and place them next to her head on the pillow. Her hair was mussed, her lips swollen and she looked so fuckable right now I could hardly breathe. 

She said, "We shouldn't do this now," she said when I pressed my erection into her hip. 

"I don't care. I need you." 

"Mulder, we're in D.D. Fair's house!" 

"We're in Gareth's house, and after all that's happened tonight, I don't think I'm going to stand on ceremony and worry about my manners." My comment came out sharper than I intended. 

She frowned. "Mulder, we need to be on guard." 

"I think the threat has passed, Scully. The immediate one, anyway. The threat was Zebrosia and she's dead." 

She looked at me for a long moment and then I felt her go limp underneath me. I took this as permission to proceed and lowered my lips to hers again. I wasn't sure but I could swear I heard her mutter, "Fuck it." 

**XXXXXXXXXX**  
**THIS PORTION NC-17**

Her demeanor changed all at once and she kissed me hungrily, clacking teeth with mine and raking her nails down my back. One hand shot between us and wrapped around my erection covered in silk boxers. After they'd left, we'd somehow managed to strip down to our underwear. 

I reached behind her and released her breasts from her lacy white bra. It fell away and we had a comical moment of twisting before it was finally removed. By mutual agreement we shed my boxers and her panties, kicking them to the foot of the bed. I made to roll over her, when her legs locked behind my thighs and she rolled us quickly. I ended up underneath her, my rampant erection pressed between us. 

She spread her body over my torso, straddling my hips and we kissed again, bruising lips and pressing deeply into each others faces. Finally she sat up, lifted onto her knees, grasped my cock in one hand, holding it straight up and plunged her incredibly tight body down on top of my shaft. 

I cried out, "Oh God! You make me feel so ... alive!" 

She was panting as she stopped, wiggling to adjust to my sudden intrusion. She moaned. 

I raised my knees, putting my feet flat on the bed, which tipped her pelvis forward and rubbed her clit on my pubic bone. 

She groaned and began to rock back and forth holding me deep inside her hot, wet tunnel. I threw my head back and began to thrust into her, short, quick jabs. She gasped and her hands dug into my shoulders where she supported her weight. 

My voice was hoarse with arousal when I cried out and growled, "Awww, yeah. Ride me, Scully." 

Her eyes widened but did as requested. I felt her knees pull up a bit and she leaned forward as she began lifting and lowering herself on my aching cock. Her rhythm increased quickly and soon she was lifting and impaling herself at a rapid speed. The sound of our panting, grunting,  
and the wet slap of our bodies filled the room. 

She cried out, "Ahhhhhhh, Awwwwww, Ahhhhhh, Awwwwww," with every thrust that embedded me inside her. 

Without warning she leaned down and rolled again. I flipped over in between her legs, never leaving her sheath. She hollered, "Mulder, **FUCK ME!"**

Didn't have to ask me twice. I began pumping into her with everything I had, slamming myself balls deep. Her legs raised up along my sides, her knees nearly in my armpits and I sank deeper, groaning and crying out with pleasure as I felt the pressure rise in my nuts. 

Just when I thought I couldn't hold out any longer, she cried out, "Oh YES, Just like that! I'm coommiinnggg!" 

I pounded into her as she spasmed around my cock, her body quaking and quivering beneath me, making me feel like a God. I was the one making Dana Scully feel this pleasure. I was the one she wanted. She was **MINE!**

I bellowed like a wounded boar and jerked mightily as my balls clenched and shot my cum up my shaft. I jammed into her, holding myself inside, swiveling my hips and pressing deep as my balls emptied in wave after wave of orgasmic bliss. 

I collapsed onto her and felt her shiver with aftershocks. I went to lift off her as I caught my breath and she whispered, "No, stay on top of me. Love to feel you surround me." 

**XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION**

"I'll crush you," I protested weakly, feeling exhaustion finally come over me like a giant wave. 

"No," she whispered, barely audible now as she drifted to sleep. "Safe here ... with you." 

My heart grew large and warmth spread through my chest. I made her feel safe. I don't how the hell that could be, but I was a selfish bastard and I would take it. 

I rested my head on her shoulder, my lips kissing her collarbone. She sighed and her breathing fell into a deep regular pattern. I whispered, "I love you, Scully." 

There was no response. She was already asleep. I felt my eyelids droop, no longer able to fight the inevitable. I glanced at the window and noticed the sun was coming up. That was the last thing I remembered until hours later. 

xxxxxxxxx 

I knew he had no plans to take me tonight. But as we lay there and listened to our two guests, it became inevitable. The sounds of their lovemaking made my cock rise. 

I felt Gareth gently probe my mind and I opened the gate, letting him sink deep inside. We lay facing each other and I closed my eyes, listening with my new ears to the sounds from down the hall. I could picture them together. 

In my mind's eye, I could see Mulder's lanky, muscular, brown frame over top of her petite, toned, white skin. I let my imagination take flight  
and pictured them, his ass rising up and down in a frenzy between her beautiful thighs, her feet in the air, bouncing with the impact. 

**XXXXXXXXXX**  
**THIS PORTION NC-17**

I felt Gareth's huge cock grow stiff against my abdomen. I rubbed my hard cock against his. He moaned gently in my ear and watched the pictures I was imagining. 

His hand reached between my legs and grasped my knee, raising my leg. I spread myself willingly for him. I could hear her mewling sounds of pleasure as Mulder plunged into her hot depths. "Awwww, Ahhhh, Awww, Ahhh." 

The sound echoed in my head as I pictured him again, his ass rising and falling in a hard, quick rhythm. I imagined how hot she was inside. I recalled the feelings she'd had when Mulder had first made love to her. I moaned at the remembered feel of the hot throbbing between her thighs, the tingling rush of wetness and later the aching pulse of her sore muscles as he violated her body. 

I pumped Gareth's cock in my hand, until I felt my fingers separate at its rapid growth. Without warning, he wrapped an arm around my waist and flipped me over, slamming my face into the pillow. He lifted my ass into the air by cupping my hips. His blunt, wide cock head slid down between my ass cheeks. Lifting his hips, he plunged the entire length up my ass in one hard thrust, pinning my body with his hands on my shoulder blades. 

I cried out at the stabbing pain that shot through my bowels. "Oh, Jesus, yes!" I mumbled as I felt the pain stiffen my own throbbing hardness and make it swell. The head of my cock was pressing into my navel and leaking jism like a leaky faucet. 

He slapped my rump with incredible force. I screamed a low masculine scream again and felt his cock throb and punch further into me as he jerked his hips. He was not thrusting. He was just rocking, roughly, jerking his cock in and out quick and hard, maybe an inch. Every few strokes, I felt him grow, punching deeper, stretching my taut anal ring until I felt it sting as though it would rip. 

I reveled in the stinging erotic pain that caused me so much pleasure. My pictures had been wrong, I realized, when I heard Mulder say, "Awww, yeah. Ride me Scully!" 

I rearranged my fantasy, seeing her above him, his hands on her milky breasts, pinching her nipples till they were purple with blood and watching her tight, tiny body, slither up and down his cock, which I knew was considerable in size in its own right. 

Gareth moaned behind me as he saw the picture I conjured in my mind. He began to assault my ass, no longer able to prolong the pleasure of thrusting. He slammed himself into my core, hitting home, rubbing that magical spot inside me that made my balls cringe and feel like they were going to bust. 

I tightened my ass muscles, squeezing him with my new found strength and control of all the muscles in my body. He bellowed and hissed, hunching behind me and riding me hard. His hands slipped to my hips as he continued his merciless pounding ... just the way I liked it. 

I could feel him leaking inside me, actually feeling my tissues absorbing his fluids and swelling my nuts. Every thrust made my aching cock swing between my legs, making me moan out my pleasure. 

A particularly hard thrust sent me sprawling flat onto the mattress. He followed me down, his cock thickening and stretching me beyond anything I'd ever known. Now his thrusts drove my cock against the sheets. 

He reached up and under me, finding my pebbled nipples and squeezing hard until I cried out from the knifing pain. It only made me harder, longer, thicker. The stronger we became, the more we could take and give. I'd never imagined such strength. I'd never imagined such pain. I'd never imagined such euphoric pleasure. 

My gums throbbed and I hissed around my extended fangs and cried out, "Oh Yes! Fuck me hard! Jesus, hold off as long as you can. Fuck me deep as you can. Oh shit, it's sooo good! The more it hurts, the better it feels. Oh Christ! Yes, Gareth, yes, Gareth! Fuck my ass, baby! Tear me up with that rod!" 

He groaned loudly at my dirty talk. I knew he loved it in the bedroom. He was so refined and polite in normal conversation. But here, in the darkness and between the sheets, he wanted crude, screaming, hard sex. 

He stopped thrusting all of a sudden and I whimpered. "No, don't stop!" 

"Shhh, Pet. Let me calm down a bit. I never dreamed it could be this good. This new blood, Alex, oh God, it's making me ... oh God, yes, oh, God, I've never grown this wide, never been so hard. Oh God, feels so good. Your ass is so tight, your muscles so strong. Squeeze it for me, Alex. Oh YEAH!" he shouted as I did just that, clenching and releasing my ass muscles with all my might. 

I twisted and glanced over my shoulder. Oh My God! He was fucking HUGE! He slipped backwards so I could see. Inch after inch backed out of my ass. I'd never seen him this long. I felt dizzy as I saw how big around he was, his girth brushing his muscular thighs. Good lord, he was big around. His cock head looked as big as the large end of a baseball bat. 

I couldn't look. I turned away and he impaled me again, driving deep and hard. He hit me just right and I couldn't stop the orgasm that hit me like a freight train with no warning. His baseball bat size cock ripped into my body and lifted my ass off the bed with the force of his thrust. I screamed with the knifing pain and began ejaculating into the sheet. 

He screamed behind me and I felt my body flooded with his sperm, warm now from all the blood we'd taken tonight. It was like getting a warm enema as he filled me to the brim and it began to leak out around his shaft and trickle down my legs. I have no idea how long we orgasmed but it was beyond anything I'd ever known. 

He finally released me and I felt my ass closing up, the tissues reconnecting, the organs readjusting that had been displaced by his pole like rod shoving so deep it felt like he nearly reached my heart. 

**XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION**

He rose and changed the sheets, a near nightly ritual, and crawled under the sheets again, Mulder and Scully forgotten in our own sexual haze. We were asleep in minutes. 

**PART 12 (PG-13)**  
**HOOVER BUILDING**  
**THIRD FLOOR**  
**D.D. SKINNER'S OFFICE**  
**TWO DAYS LATER**

"There's nothing else you can tell me about this?" Skinner asked, looking at Mulder. 

I answered instead. "Not really. The window in D.D. Fair's home was shattered, but we couldn't find any evidence of a missile that broke it. It's possible it bounced back outside and the perpetrator took off with it. Whatever it was though, it must have been heavy. That window was double paned, safety glass." 

"Nothing was taken?" Skinner asked suspiciously. 

"No, I don't think they expected D.D. Fair to be home and really didn't expect us to be there, drawing weapons. They never got inside. Unless they took something from outside, but D.D. Fair says he doesn't see anything missing from the grounds." 

"How did they get out?" 

"We found a breach in his fence. Looks like they used some kind of machinery to bend the bars enough to slip through. He had the window and that section of fence repaired yesterday," I replied, hating that I had to lie to him. 

"Nothing on the security cameras?" 

"Nothing. Although we know a good hacker could probably divert the feed and show nothing." 

"So you think this was more than one perpetrator?" 

"Yes," Mulder answered. "But honestly, the chances of us figuring it out are slim. You know how it is in cases like this," he added. 

"Yes, Agent Mulder, I do. Unless they try again, there's little we can do with so few leads." 

"Story of our lives, huh?" he teased gently. 

Skinner allowed the corners of his mouth to turn up now. I think he almost felt sorry for us. "So ... why were you there again?" 

"We needed to ask him some questions," I said. 

"And it couldn't wait until the next day in the office." 

"No, we thought we were being followed." 

"By whom?" 

"Alex Krycek," Mulder answered this time. "He waltzed in here three days ago like he owned the place. I'd love to know whose ass he is kissing." 

Skinner smirked. "Me too, Agent Mulder. I'll be on the lookout for him. What do you think he wants?" 

Mulder pretended to ponder this. "I don't know. He claimed the old Consortium was dead and gone. So maybe he wants to sell information to his contacts ... who knows what Alex Krycek does and why?" he said, repeating Skinner's earlier question. "I've never been able to figure him out. He screws us one day and helps us the next. I've never known what to make of him, frankly." 

I nudged Mulder gently with my foot. He was elaborating too much. If he got too chatty, Skinner would become suspicious and think we were covering something up. 

He looked at me now and I didn't see any suspicion in his face. "All right then, Agents, you're dismissed. I'll mark this one open and cold. I'm waiting on a fax from the Richmond field office. I may have a case for you later today or tomorrow." 

"Concerning what, sir?" 

He sighed. "There's apparently been another killing like the last ones." 

"The last ones?" I asked, my heart rate accelerating. 

"Another body with no blood, Agent Scully. Turned up in Richmond. To date, they've been able to keep it from the press. But that won't last long. They want to solve this quick before it gets out and everyone panics." 

"Jesus," Mulder muttered. 

"What's wrong, Agent Mulder?" 

"Nothing." 

"Do you think it's the same perpetrator from before?" he asked. 

"Do you?" Mulder countered. 

"I suspect so. There's only been about a four day gap since the last one. And that perp hasn't been caught, so I'd have to say chances are it's the same perp. We need to find this one." 

"We'll do our best, Sir," I answered. "Let us know when you have the information." 

"You'll be the first to know." 

We stood and nodded at him and headed for the door. 

"Agents?" he stopped us. 

We turned and I asked, "Yes, sir?" 

"Off the record ... do you think D.D. Fair is on the up and up?" 

"Sir?" Mulder asked, asking for more information. 

"Do you think he's crooked?" 

I took a steadying breath. "I don't think so, Sir. He was very forthcoming when we asked our questions about his past. He was irritated but he answered them. I got no impression that he was hiding anything." 

Skinner nodded, trusting our judgment, and I felt like a schmuck all over again. "Very well, I'll call you as soon as I receive that fax." 

"Yes, sir." 

We exited the office and walked in silence to the elevator. It came to the floor and we stepped inside, glad to find it empty. 

The doors closed and we descended toward the basement. "Well," Mulder breathed out, "that was uncomfortable." 

"Yeah, and I think it's going to get more uncomfortable before we're through." 

He sighed heavily again. "I think you're right. How the hell do we get ourselves into this shit?" he asked. 

It was a rhetorical question. I shrugged and the car stopped, the door sliding open with a hydraulic hiss. 

We proceeded down the hall and Mulder unlocked the office. We entered and he turned to close the door, hitting the light switch at the same time. 

I gasped and Mulder spun around. 

Alex Krycek sat negligently in Mulder's chair. We both stared, saying nothing. 

"Good afternoon, Agents," he greeted us. 

"What are you doing here?" Mulder asked harshly. 

He smiled. "We need to talk." 

"About what?" 

"Your new case." 

"We haven't received it yet," I told him. 

"We didn't do it," he said. 

Mulder glared at him. "You expect us to keep believing that? Zebrosia's dead now. You can't blame it on her anymore." 

"I know." 

"And get the hell out of my chair!" he shouted in his irritation. 

Alex got slowly to his feet and moved out of the way. Mulder swung around behind his desk and fell into his chair, the leather creaking loudly. 

"We think it's another rogue. He could have been traveling with Zebrosia and was left behind. Or he could be someone seeking us out. We don't know yet. But Gareth has a fix on him." 

Alex and Gareth had explained the following evening the significance of them killing Zebrosia and taking on her blood. They were now the two most powerful vampires in the world, according to them anyway. Personally, I didn't doubt it. Yes, I believed in them now. I'd seen too much not to. I didn't like the hold they had over us, but there was nothing to be done for now. We had to protect their secret and the new Consortium. We were now a part of a conspiracy instead of chasing one and trying to expose it. 

We were both uncomfortable with this new status. We didn't want to become what we hated; people who kept the truth from others for the sake of the greater good. In this case though,... for now anyway,... we had  
no choice. 

"So what are you going to do?" Mulder asked. 

"Give us two nights. We'll find him and take care of him." 

"We need a perp, Krycek." 

He turned to look at me. "Let me talk to Gareth. Maybe we can kill him without draining him, or make him weak enough that you can catch him and destroy him yourselves." 

"Oh, goodie," Mulder said sarcastically. 

"I'll be in touch." 

Alex headed for the door and I stopped him. "Hey!" 

He stopped and turned with his hand on the door knob. I hadn't even asked how he got into the office and I wasn't going to. There was no point but I did ask. "How can you be here at this time of day?" 

I knew D.D. Fair came and left while it was dark. But he stayed here all day in his windowless office. How was Alex going to get out of the building without frying to a crisp? 

He grinned. "I can make short trips outside now. I can move fast enough to make it to Georgetown before I burn. That blood we took is so strong. It's given me a lot of skills and a greater tolerance even for the things that could kill me." 

"What will happen if you aren't quick enough?" 

"I might get a tan," he grinned cheekily. 

I wasn't amused. 

"Don't worry about me. We'll solve this one for you, Agents. Gotta keep that solve rate up, you know." 

"Oh, brother," I murmured. 

He waved over his shoulder and glided out of the office, silent as a cat. 

Mulder and I looked at each other. We both shrugged at the same time, wondering how long it would be before this all blew up in our faces. 

**THE END.**

Donnilee  
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"The armchair is the neurotic's spaceship." Bob Earle "When you talk to God, they call it prayer. When God talks to you, they call it schizophrenia." - Fox Mulder   
  


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